Published: March 30, 2006 02:30 pm         

Community still remembers

Ever since I started writing for the Tuttle Times eight years ago, readers have often asked what has happened in the case of Audra Matheny.

Occasionally we would get a call or an e-mail at the office from one of Audra’s classmates asking for more information.

I looked back at old newspapers to see what had transpired, but the coverage wasn’t complete. The story after Audra’s murder was less than two inches long, and was not followed up until the single story that ran after Steve Wilson’s murder conviction.

I was only a second grader in Barbara Hall’s class at Tuttle when Audra was killed, and I don’t remember a thing her murder. I was shielded from it.

My sister, Marissa, wasn’t so lucky. She was in Denise Woods’ (now Sims) fifth grade class, and she was friendly with Audra. She told me the whole class was shell-shocked when the school counselor broke the news to them. The week before, they had all played together at the spring fling at Schrock Park. Audra had not been very talented sports-wise, and Sims had helped her hit the baseball. Now Audra would never get a chance to get any better.

I have been asked over the years to write a story decoding Audra’s murder and the Wilson trial. I thought about the idea, and did a small amount of research, but it never seemed like the right time.

All that changed when I logged on to Steven Wilson’s offender page at the department of corrections website last year. The parole date jumped out at me - April 2006. I knew that those close to Audra’s death would want to know, especially since any letters to the parole board might hold sway on the outcome.

From the very beginning, it was obvious that Audra’s story could not be told under a single headline. Because of this, the Times will be printing a multi-part series focusing on the facets of her life and death.

In preparation for these stories, I have dug through old files at the county courthouse, viewed crime scene photos with Audra dead in her bed, traveled to Bastrop, La. to speak to Audra’s real father and extended family, spoke to her brother and mother in California, and stood at her rain-soaked grave.

Some facts and files have been lost over the years, but the story is still there. I have tried to find the truth for those who have needed to know it.