SASAKWA, OK – Nearly three decades after the brutal slaying of an elderly woman in Sasakwa, Oklahoma, two relatives have been arrested in connection with the cold case, thanks in part to renewed investigative efforts and forensic advancements.
Back in August 1997, authorities discovered 81-year-old Gerthie Carolina brutally murdered on the kitchen floor of her home. An autopsy revealed she had suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the abdomen, yet her killers remained at large as the case waned into obscurity until being reopened by investigators in late 2023.
Recent analysis by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) re-examined evidence, including a key exhibit—a shoe with incriminating stains. Tests confirmed the blood on the shoe matched Carolina’s DNA. The shoe, it turned out, belonged to Carolyn Foreman’s great-niece—a revelation that led to her arrest, along with Foreman herself.
Carolyn Foreman, now aged 81, along with her 45-year-old great-niece Dakota Davis, are both now charged with first-degree murder. This dramatic development stunned local residents who had long thought the mystery of Carolina’s tragic death unsolvable. Court documents reveal the grim motive: a belief that Carolina’s $40,000 inheritance was worth killing for.
According to court affidavits, Carolina had designated Foreman as a beneficiary in a living trust just months before her death. She purportedly trusted Foreman to distribute her estate among family members, but that trust ended violently. Initial statements to police from Foreman and Davis claimed they discovered the body when arriving for a scheduled doctor’s visit that summer morning in 1997.
As the case evolved over the years, Davis allegedly made various confessions to acquaintances, revealing chilling details about the crime. One such revelation to her father in 2001 depicted the gruesome nature of the killing, with Davis claiming she was directed by Foreman during the assault.
Further investigation revealed that Davis confided in others about using a weapon, likely a knife or an axe, to commit the heinous act and that Foreman had allegedly been complicit in planning and executing the murder. The affidavits paint a picture of betrayal and greed leading to the family’s fracture and ultimate tragedy.
The shadow of the past returns for Foreman, who, according to historical records, was previously implicated in a separate murder case in 1999 involving the death of a teenager. Although charges were dropped against her, it was her son who was ultimately convicted and is now serving a life sentence.
As the community grapples with these revelations, the next steps in the judicial process are set to unfold with keen public interest, finally bringing resolution to a case that lingered unresolved for far too long.