Tragedy in Oklahoma City:
The Sirloin Stockade murders refer to a tragic incident. This event occurred on May 20, 1978, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It took place at a Sirloin Stockade restaurant. It involved a mass shooting perpetrated by four armed robbers.
During the robbery, the perpetrators, armed with shotguns and handguns, entered the restaurant and ordered employees and patrons to lie down on the floor. They then proceeded to rob the restaurant. However, at some point during the robbery, the situation escalated into violence. The gunmen opened fire indiscriminately, killing six employees and injuring several others before fleeing the scene. The victims included both kitchen staff and servers working at the restaurant. The incident shocked the local community and garnered significant media attention.
Upon arrival by police, five bodies lay crumpled, two by the door; Sirloin Stockade restaurant manager Louis Zacarias, 43, and Isaac Freeman, 56. Three teenagers not yet old enough to vote: David Lindsey, 17; David Salsman, 16; and Anthony Tew, 17 laid piled atop each other, their blood forming a slick pool that covered the floor and stained the surrounding boxes of ground beef patties and Wisconsin blue cheese. Moments before, paramedics had taken a sixth victim from the room. Life still fluttered within 15-year-old Terri Horst’s body, but soon, she too would die.
In the aftermath of the shootings, law enforcement launched a massive investigation to apprehend the perpetrators. Eventually, all four suspects were arrested, charged, and convicted in connection with the murders and other crimes related to the robbery. However, even now, after all this time, there is no real explanation for what led Roger Dale Stafford; his wife, Verna Stafford; and his brother, Harold Stafford, to launch their attack.
The Sirloin Stockade murders remain a tragic and somber event in Oklahoma City’s history, remembered as one of the deadliest mass shootings in the state. It serves as a reminder of the devastating impact of gun violence and the importance of effective crime prevention measures.
THE VICTIMS
David Dewayne Lindsey
BIRTH 10 Dec 1960
DEATH 16 Jul 1978 (aged 17)
BURIAL Belmont Memorial Park Fresno, Fresno County, California
David Gregory Salsman
BIRTH 29 Jul 1962
DEATH 16 Jul 1978 (aged 15)
BURIAL Howe Cemetery Howe, Le Flore County, Oklahoma
Anthony R. Tew
BIRTH 5 Dec 1960
DEATH 16 Jul 1978 (aged 17)
BURIAL Cape Charles Cemetery Cape Charles, Northampton County, Virginia
Terri Michele Horst
BIRTH 1962
DEATH 16 Jul 1978 (aged 15–16)
BURIAL Resthaven Gardens Cemetery Oklahoma City, Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Isaac E. Freeman
BIRTH 13 Jul 1922
DEATH 16 Jul 1978 (aged 56)
BURIAL Hillcrest Memory Gardens Spencer, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Louis Franco Zacarias
BIRTH 13 May 1935
DEATH16 Jul 1978 (aged 43)
BURIAL Resthaven Gardens Cemetery Oklahoma City, Cleveland County, Oklahoma
On Jan. 3, 1979, Roger Dale Stafford phoned in a drunken tip naming his brother and wife as suspects. It proved to be the breakthrough the police had been waiting for. By mid-March, both he and Verna Stafford were in custody.
Roger Dale Stafford, who grinned at photographers during his trial, was sentenced to death. After numerous appeals, he was executed July 1, 1995.
Verna Stafford is serving two consecutive life sentences. She was denied parole in May.
Harold Stafford’s journey ended in Tulsa. He was killed in a motorcycle accident. Some believe it was a suicide. This occurred a week after the Sirloin Stockade slayings.
