On December 8, 2015 I was woken up by my father-in-law saying my oldest daughter was on the phone. I instantly start worrying because it is a school day and she never calls me on the house phone. As I reach for the house phone I also grab my cellphone and noticed that I have missed 15 calls from my mom. My heart sinks. My daughter tells me that my mom is really needing to speak to me and texted her to see if she could wake me. I call my mom and I will never forget that phone call, or her exact words. "This isn't something I ever thought I would have to tell you over the phone or at all. Your sister called me early this morning. The police showed up at her house this morning and stated that they received a report that your son Christopher was murdered and left in Dow Lake and we are about to go drag the lake to see if the report is true." She is crying, I am crying. She told me she would call me if she got the call stating that it was him. I chained smoked. I have never in my life until this moment wished and prayed so hard for my phone NOT to ring. Twenty minutes later... it does. I'm scared to answer but I know that it's my mom on the other end and I know what she is about to tell me and I knew that she was probably breaking down and that I needed to be strong for her. I answer and I hear her sobbing and I knew. They found him she stated. The next few days were a blur. Having to tell my kids their cousin who they spent every summer with was murdered. Talking to other family members about it. Speaking with friends and letting them know what was going on so when they started seeing our painful Facebook posts they would know what was going on. Over the next 2 weeks was spent talking with my mom about funeral arrangements, hoping and praying that our fundraiser would raise enough money for my mom to travel from Florida were she lives to Oklahoma were we were. Obtaining information about the murder and passing it on to family members. Then came the funeral, then the memorial service afterwards. This all kept me busy with my mind able to keep busy with plans needing to be made. I was always around someone that needed me to be strong for them. Now... 5 almost 6 months later my grief is still so real. The pain is still so hard. 

My nephew Christopher just turned 18. He had a life ahead of him that was so bright. He loved life. He had a passion for helping others. He did not deserve to have his life taken from him. He should have just walked at graduation. He should just be starting his adult life. He always wanted to get married and have kids of his own. All that stolen from him... and from me and my family. Summers in Florida will never be the same for my children and my mom. The kids are just not that excited about their visit to Grandma's this year because they know he will not be there. Our hearts are broken. Missing him and grieving him is also much harder while we are at the same time going through the justice system trying to get justice for him. It's hard to keep sane sometimes. I feel I need to explain what happened for anyone who happens to read this. The following is the story we have been told, found out and know to be the truth of it all.

Sometime in November My nephew witnessed a stabbing. If you can call it "witnessed". He did not see everyone that was there. From what we are told (by the stabbing victim) he didn't even witness the actual stabbing and who all was there. He was in the general vicinity of the crime and saw the stabbing victim and I guess at some point told this person he would testify if needed. He was not aware that the people at the stabbing were his "friends". We are assuming that at some point he made a comment to his "friends" about testifying about this stabbing not aware that they were the ones who were behind the stabbing. So this put in motion their next crime. They claim that they only took him out to this lake so they could beat him up and intimidate him into not "snitching" but you don't take someone out to a secluded lake that hardly nobody knows about to beat someone up especially if you just stabbed someone in the middle of town the month before. You don't bring latex gloves to beat someone up either. We don't know how... but somehow they convinced him to go to this lake. They drove him there.... there was 7 people total in the car at first. One of them my nephew. Before arriving one of the guys changed his mind about being involved we are told and got out of the car so when they arrived at the lake there was 6. ( 21 year old female name Jodi Langham who this all started because of. She is the one that got someone to stab the person, she is the one that my nephew had talked in front of about the stabbing, 23 year old male named Jonathon Flowers, 15 yr old Sam Scharbach. 2 witnesses who I will only call by their first intial... J and D.) 

From what we are told they got out of the car and Sam attacked my nephew. My nephew fought back and overtook Sam. Jonathon came up behind my nephew and strangled him until he passed out. Once on the ground my nephew was dragged to the lake by the witness J. Sam then held his head under water until he drowned and then pushed him out into the lake. We have been recently told that Jodi then tried to cover up the drag marks at the lake. We also knew already that her and Sam took my nephews phone apart and then drove 2.5 hrs to Tulsa and threw the guts of his phone into the bushes behind a walmart beside the mall which the police have found. We have never found his wallet. 

After this happened Witness D told her boyfriend who was the guy who got out of the car and he told his mom, his mom told  her counselor and the counselor called the cops. This is how they found out and how we found out. The FBI was the lead on the investigation. We found his body on the 8th of December, Jodi, Sam and Jonathon were arrested on the 9th of December.  We are still pressing for them to charge witness J because he admitted to helping. He claims he did it under duress but I call BS because this witness could have easily overpowered Sam as well. We also think witness D should be charged with something. She knew what they were going to do. She let it happen. She didn't do anything to stop it. She didn't immediately report it. 

Sam is charged with First Degree murder and conspiracy to commit assault and battery, Jonathon is charged with Murder in the second degree, and Jodi is charged with accessory to first degree murder and conspiracy to commit assault and battery.  These charges might change after the preliminary hearing in June. They are hoping to show enough evidence that they can raise Jodi's charge from accessory to first degree murder to Murder in the first degree. At the time they orignally filed the charges the DA only knew about what Jodi did AFTER the murder took place so they only had evidence that she was an accessory after the fact. Since then they have uncovered evidence that proves she was a principle in the murder.

No charges have been brought agaisnt them over the stabbing. Which hurts...... It now feels more like he lost his life for nothing. Absolutely nothing! We recently expressed this feeling in a meeting with the DA and we hope that this presses them to charge them for that as well. At least then his death wont feel as it was for nothing. Even though it still doesn't take away the pain. 

They say time heals all wounds and I don't feel this is true. I don't think I will ever even be able to begin to heal until after the trials and after the sentences. We hoped that it would be fast since both Sam and Jonathon have confessed but that is not proving to be true. 

I miss him so much..and my life will never be the same