CRIME REWIND: 'Natural Born Killers' inspired notorious OK case

Jan. 7—A high-profile case erupted when a woman of a prominent family referred to by many as the "Kennedys of Oklahoma," along with her Tahlequah High School dropout boyfriend, went on a crime spree inspired by the movie, "Natural Born Killers."

It was 1995 when Sarah Edmondson and Benjamin James Darras, both 18, met in Tahlequah and quickly became inseparable. The two spent the night of March 5, 1995, at Edmondson's family cabin in Welling, where they took LSD and repeatedly watched "Natural Born Killers." The film is about a couple who go on a multi-state killing spree.

Edmondson and Darras decided to drive to Memphis the next day to attend a Grateful Dead concert. However, the concert had happened the week before, and the pair ended up in Hernando, Mississippi. On March 7, they arrived at Producers Gin of Hernando Inc., which was managed by 58-year-old William W. "Bill" Savage. Darras shot Savage two times with a .38-caliber pistol, and took his wallet.

The then traveled to Ponchatoula, Louisiana, the next day and stopped at the Time Saver convenience store. Edmondson was seen on the store's security camera, walking up to 35-year-old store clerk Patsy Byers, and shooting her. Byers was critically injured when she was shot in the neck, but she did survive and was paralyzed.

Edmondson exited the store afterward and then returned to steal cash. The pair didn't returned to Oklahoma for several weeks after the shooting, and a still photo of Edmondson's face was released to the media. Investigators followed up on several leads, but each one hit a dead end. It wasn't until an ex-boyfriend of Edmondson's told authorities about the store robbery and shooting.

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation went to the home of Jim and Suzanne Edmondson in Muskogee on June 2, 1995, and they said their daughter wasn't there. Agents produced an arrest warrant for Edmondson on charges of attempted first-degree murder in Louisiana. As her parents waited with agents, Jim was asked about a gun he may have had. He said he owned a .38-caliber pistol that should have been at his cabin in Welling. The firearm was found at the cabin and turned over to agents.

Edmondson returned to the house around 11:30 p.m., and it was her father who turned her over to authorities. Jim read his daughter her Miranda Rights before she was arrested.

Edmondson's grandfather was a U.S. congressman, while her great-uncle was Oklahoma's governor and a U.S. senator. Her uncle, Drew Edmondson, was the Oklahoma attorney general at the time, and her father was a Muskogee County district court judge. He is now a justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Darras was also arrested, and he and Sarah were taken to be questioned by authorities. Darras claimed he didn't know what Sarah was going to do when the two arrived at the convenience store in Ponchatoula. He told Sarah to go back into the store to get the money after Byers was shot.

The two were extradited in July 1995 to Louisiana, where they faced charges of robbery and attempted murder. Sarah was held on a $1 million bond, while Darras was held on a $500,000 bond in Tangipahoa Parish. At that point, Sarah's attorney contacted authorities in Hernando and told them she had information about Savage's unsolved murder. Sarah was interview on July 17, 1995, and she told authorities how Darras became infatuated with the idea of recreating his version of "Natural Born Killers."

Sarah said she became afraid of Darras, and she took the loaded .38 pistol with her when the two left for Memphis. It was during this interview that she told authorities about their involvement in Savage's murder.

Darras was charged with murder and pleaded guilty to armed robbery for his role in Ponchatoula. He received a 35-year prison sentence and was released from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail, before he pleaded guilty to murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Savage.

Sarah Edmondson was charged with attempted second-degree murder, armed robbery and illegal use of a firearm in committing a violent crime. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison and served 11 years before she was released on parole in 2010.

Byers filed a lawsuit against her two assailants, and later added the film's director, Oliver Stone, and Time Warner. Byers died of cancer in 1997, and a Louisiana judge dismissed the lawsuit, as there was no evidence that Stone or Time Warner incited violence.