Talks on dropping 'Daisy Doe' case delayed

Keri Thornton, Tahlequah Daily Press, Okla.
·2 min read

May 28—Negotiations to dismiss a case for a Muskogee man charged with first-degree murder have been pushed back to a later date.

Defense Attorney B.J. Baker filed a motion to dismiss the murder case due to lack of prosecution movement for James Ray Vogel in February. Baker said the District Attorney's Office has done nothing on this case in over a year, therefore prejudicing his client.

Vogel, 58, was arrested in 2017 for allegedly killing Jeanette Ellen Coleman.

The victim's body was discovered by two fisherman on May 7, 1988, by the Fort Gibson dam. Coleman was clothed in only a T-shirt and had a 28-pound concrete block tied to her waist.

The victim had no identification, so she was nicknamed "Daisy Doe" for a tattoo on her shoulder.

In 2015, Coleman was positively identified by the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office and the case was reopened. Investigators believed Vogel and three other men met Coleman in a Muskogee bar.

The men are believed to have had sexual intercourse with her at the dam, then tied a block to her body and threw her into the water while she was still alive.

Court documents identify the three men as James West, Wesley Hall and Jackie Goodson.

Along with being accused of murder, Vogel is suspected of engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses, including obstruction and perjury. The suspect allegedly gave false statements as he testified in front of a grand jury.

First-degree murder is punishable by death, life imprisonment without parole, or life imprisonment.

If found guilty of engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses, Vogel faces up to two years' imprisonment in the Department of Corrections or up to one year imprisonment in the county jail. Perjury is punishable by imprisonment of two to 20 years.

An affidavit signed by Vogel states accusations lingering over his head have caused him anxiety, depression, loss of appetite, and sleep for the past two years.

Vogel is slated to appear in court on June 24. District Judge Doug Kirkley is presiding over the case.