Sampson Oguntope sentenced to life in prison for 2012 Slaton murder

Sampson Oguntope, 31, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole in the 2012 shooting death of the 89-year-old woman he sexually assaulted.

Oguntope appeared Friday morning before District Judge John McClendon in the 137th District Court pleaded guilty to a count of capital murder in connection with the Feb. 21, 2012 shooting death of 89-year-old Faye Bowen Gray. He spoke softly as he answered McClendon's questions about his plea bargain with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office.

He admitted to killing Gray in the course of committing the offense of burglary of a habitation.

Lubbock County District Attorney Sunshine Stanek said Oguntope's conviction and sentence was a long time coming.

"We are so very pleased wit hthe outcome of this long time coming case today," she said. "This has been a long 10 years that has finally resulted in justice for this family and for law enforcement and for this community. It's really kind of unbelievable at this point. It's just … a little bit surreal."

Oguntope was represented by attorneys with the Regional Public Defender's Office on Capital Cases, who declined to comment after the plea hearing.

Capital murder carries a punishment of life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Soon after Oguntope was indicted, the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office filed a motion seeking the death penalty in the case.

However, as part of the plea bargain, the death penalty was waived.

"Early on, of course, this office was looking at seeking death on this particular individual," Stanek said. "Because of 10 years of mental health issues as documented in the court and as heard in the open courtroom last week. Ultimately, this was the just punishment in this particular case."

Oguntope entered his plea about a week after he was found competent to stand trial after nearly a decade of treatment to restore his competency.

He was set to go to trial in September, court officials said.

Defendant's are deemed incompetent if a court determines that they are unable to understand the legal process or work with their attorneys in their defense. The issue is separate from insanity, which deals with the defendant's mental state when a crime was committed.

A psychologist diagnosed Oguntope with schizoaffective disorder bipolar, saying his mental illness manifested in paranoia and delusions that kept him from being able to work with his attorneys in developing a defense strategy.

For about seven years, Oguntope was ordered to be civilly committed to a mental health facility, which was extended annually until he regained competency.

Two years ago Oguntope, who was being held at the Rusk State Hospital, wrote the court asking about his fate, saying he wanted to go on with his life and maybe start a family of his own but was unable to because of the civil commitment.

"I feel like going to jail and being in the hospitals is cruel and unusual punishment," he wrote.

The letters did not mention Gray or any statement about the charge against him.

In the letter, Oguntope states that he was "found not restorable numerous times and I keep going back to a hospital for treatment."

Dr. Megan Thoene told the court in the Aug. 3 competency hearing that Oguntope's last two evaluations resulted in determinations that he was competent. She said it appeared that Oguntope was able to set aside his delusions and stop his thoughts when they wandered and continue the evaluations.

"Over the past year especially, there was a significant improvement as the doctor testified to that remained consistent and even when he came back to the Lubbock County Jail ... there were procedures in place to keep him competent," Stanek said. "And our jail has a great mental health facility and resources available and the sheriff was very accommodating in making sure that he received the care that he needed here in the jail in order to keep him competent to stand trial."

Oguntope's charge stems from a Lubbock Sheriff's Office investigation after first responders found Gray with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head while her 21-year-old caregiver was also shot in the head but survived. Court documents state she was also sexually assaulted.

Earlier in the day, Slaton police questioned Oguntope after following up on reports from several residents about a man knocking on doors in Slaton. Oguntope said he was looking for a woman he knew and had just gotten the wrong house.

Police officials said the man, later identified as Oguntope, asked residents when they planned to leave for work, how long they planned to be gone and when they expected to return.

One of the residents, who reported being questioned by Oguntope, called Slaton police reporting he saw Oguntope's white Honda sedan pull into the parking lot of the Knights Inn on U.S. 84 in Slaton.

Two officers responding to the motel about 8:40 a.m. approached Oguntope who said he had stopped to use wireless Internet at the motel. The officers did a quick database search of Oguntope but did not find warrants or any red flags and left without taking him into custody.

Three hours later, Slaton police received a 911 call reporting a woman bleeding in the 1400 block of West Crosby Street, where Gray's caregiver was seriously wounded as she fled on foot to seek help.

Officers responded to her location and to Gray's home.

The caregiver gave police a description of the assailant and his vehicle, which resembled Oguntope.

Meanwhile, investigators searched Oguntope's home in the 3600 block of Marshall Avenue and discovered evidence indicating someone bled in the home as well as possible transferred blood evidence from another, undisclosed location.

Investigators also took note of an ironing board sitting in a small hallway in Oguntope's home, reporting they noticed the pad had an undisclosed substance on it, according to an arrest warrant.

The caregiver's parent wrote victim impact statement that Stanek read in court.

The woman's mother told Oguntope that his actions that day caused her family a lot of pain and hardship. She said her daughter required three surgeries and years of therapy to relearn how to walk and take care of herself.

"She still has bullet fragments in her head, she still gets headaches, and has hearing loss and you caused that," she wrote.

She told Oguntope that he would never have a family, or have children of his own.

"You took a life and tried to take another and not once have you ever been remorseful," she said.

The woman's father told Oguntope that his family have waited 10 years for this day but the harm he's done will never be forgotten.

"Sampson, you will never know the beauty of becoming a dad, a husband, and watching a life come into this world," he wrote. "But you see Sampson, I get to watch my [daughter] move forward today and put this horrible crime you did behind her. And start the healing process. So truly at the end of the day she won, Sampson, god overcame evil."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Sampson Oguntope pleads guilty to capital murder