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September 5, 2008

Man guilty of killing stepdaughter



A Wagoner County jury will be back in court Sept. 15 to determine the fate of a man convicted of killing his stepdaughter.

At 6:30 a.m. Friday, jurors found Oscar Patterson III, 48, guilty in the 1997 killing of 15-year-old Tiffiany Beverly. Their verdict ended a trial that began Aug. 25.

Wagoner County jurors began deliberating Thursday night and kept at it for 13 and one-half hours, said First Assistant District Attorney John David Luton.

Because of the lengthy deliberations, the jury was dismissed until Sept. 15, at which time the penalty phase of the trial begins.

Patterson was previously convicted of the murder of Beverly in Tulsa County District Court in 2000. His conviction was overturned two years later by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

The appellate court ruled evidence indicated the killing took place in Wagoner County, and that was the county in which he should be tried.

Patterson was accused of killing Beverly to cover up his sexually abusing her. She was reported missing May 27, 1997, the day Patterson said he had driven her to a Tulsa mall and dropped her off.

He is serving four 25-year sentences for sexually abusing a minor.

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