On March 2, 2020, Beverly Jane Spence, 65, was found shot to death in her Tulsa home alongside her husband, Joseph Gary Spence, 66. Their car had been located nearby with the engine running and two rifles inside, and a strong smell of gasoline was reported at the house.

Investigators focused on the couple’s son, Bryan Spence of Stillwater, after learning he had been owed several thousand dollars and had been asked to visit his parents the day before their bodies were found to repay the loan. Surveillance footage placed him in the neighborhood despite his initial denial of being in Tulsa that day. He was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and held on $1 million bond; he later pleaded guilty and received life in prison.