CHEYENNE WOLF - 11 yo - Bryan County OK

Cheyenne Wolf’s body began its journey in a large plastic tub stashed in a shed at her southern Oklahoma home.
The trip ended 15 months and 1,900 miles later, when two containers of
skeletal remains and soft tufts of hair were pulled from a storage unit
near Milton-Freewater, Ore., on the Fourth of July.The remains are consistent with Cheyenne’s bone size and medical history, according to a medical examiner’s preliminary report. But what
really happened to the 12-year-old girl with blue eyes framed by curly
red hair?Investigators are trying to piece together how the little girl who used
leg braces and crutches really died and why she took a journey that
ended in two plastic tubs marked with Xs."To treat the body of a loved one like it’s no more than a piece of luggage, it’s just wrong,” said Detective John Bates of the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department. "Everybody’s questioning the actions of her parents.”Abel Travis Wolf, 35, and Denise Ann Wolf,
40, have been charged with unlawful removal of a body. According to law
enforcement affidavits, the Wolfs didn’t tell investigators the cause
of Cheyenne’s death but did detail how they transported the girl’s
remains as they moved from Bokchito to Havre, Mont., and then to Milton-Freewater.According to the affidavits, from the time she died in April 2008,
Cheyenne’s body was moved five times. Her father, stepmother and
sisters traveled across six states with her body.Body found in Oregon
With a search warrant and cooperation from Denise Wolf’s brother, Umatilla County
sheriff’s investigators stepped into a storage unit in Milton-Freewater
at 4 a.m. on July 4 and saw two plastic containers with snap-on lids.
They popped them open."The weight of the containers and the odor that was emitted from them
led us to believe there was some type of decaying flesh in them,” Umatilla County Sheriff John Trumbo said.Investigators resealed the containers and took them to a refrigerated
evidence box. On Wednesday, they drove the containers 210 miles to the
medical examiner’s office."We found the remains of Cheyenne,” Trumbo said. "My detective sergeant
... said he has absolutely no doubt it was her because everything fits.”But Trumbo said a cause of death may never be determined because of the condition of the body.Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said final identification can be determined once Oklahoma receives medical and dental records that will be turned over to Oregon’s medical examiner.What happened?
According to the affidavits:One evening in April 2008, the Wolf family sat down for dinner in their
rented double-wide mobile home on Philadelphia Road in rural Bokchito.
The parents became upset when Cheyenne wouldn’t eat, Abel Wolf told
OSBI investigator David Houston.Abel went outside to smoke, and one of Cheyenne’s siblings followed. Abel said he heard a "thump” from inside the mobile home.The next morning, without checking on Cheyenne, he headed for a casino where he worked on slot machines, Bates said. When Abel arrived home,
he found Cheyenne dead."Right now, we don’t know how she died,” Brown said. The couple agreed not to report the death, and Abel told investigators he put the child’s body in a sleeping bag inside a large plastic tub he stored in a shed behind the family home.He moved it when it started to smell, investigator Houston wrote.Abel buried Cheyenne’s body under the front deck of the home. The area is secluded, with no close neighbors.People began to wonder why Cheyenne didn’t join the family at softball games and other events, Bates said."This strikes a chord in your heart. Why not call the police and medical examiner if she died?” Bates asked.The journey begins
According to affidavits:Cheyenne’s body remained under the deck from April 2008 until August,
when the Wolf family prepared to move more than 1,600 miles north to
Havre, Mont.Abel Wolf dug up Cheyenne and put her body into three large zipper
bags. He put two bags in one plastic tub, and the other in a second
plastic tub.Cheyenne’s remains rested in their Montana garage until January. Then
Denise Wolf and one of Cheyenne’s siblings moved to Milton-Freewater,
Ore., and took Cheyenne’s remains."They put Cheyenne’s body in an old chicken house,” investigator Houston wrote.She stayed there until Denise Wolf moved the remains in February to the
storage building where Oregon deputies found the containers on July 4.Police get a tip
Ardmore police got a call May 9 from a woman who said she had information on a possible crime."Whenever a little girl goes missing, everyone starts asking questions,” Ardmore police spokesman Robin Beal said.Homicide Detective Ruben Garcia
began calling and visiting five states in search of answers. The
Ardmore detective contacted the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department on
June 15, and Bates gathered photos and determined details about the
family’s life in Bokchito.OSBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bryan County and law enforcement in Montana and Oregon worked together on the overall investigation."We’re hoping some justice will occur for this little girl,” Beal said.
"The parts we’ve uncovered thus far are disturbing, to say the least.”Where they are now
The Wolfs were arrested in Havre, Mont., where they are jailed on
Oklahoma complaints of unlawful removal of a body. They face charges in
Oklahoma. Bryan County Sheriff Bill Sturch said it likely will be several days before someone can retrieve the Wolfs."Most law enforcement officers are pretty hard to get to,” Bates said. "We’re trained to be like robots and not show emotion."But this right here will eat at your heart.”

BRYAN COUNTY, OK --The father
and stepmother of an eleven-year-old Bokchito girl who authorities say
carried her remains across the country should be brought back to
Oklahoma to face charges by next weekend.

Abel and Denise Wolf waived extradition in a Montana courtroom last week.
The Bryan County Sheriff's Office plans to send a plane with one deputy,
one OSBI agent, and a pilot to Montana to take the Wolfs from Hill
County, Montana to Durant. The two are charged with unlawful removal of a dead body.
Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of death of 11-year-old Cheyenne Wolf, and whether those remains are hers.

It will be weeks before remains discovered in a storage unit in Oregon
are positively identified, said Jessica Brown, Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation public information officer. The remains are thought to be
those of 12-year-old Cheyenne Wolf who, Brown said, authorities believe
died in April 2008. Authorities believe that Cheyenne's body was then
buried several times as the family moved through Oklahoma, Montana and
Oregon. The Oregon state medical examiner's office "cannot make a
positive ID based on the dental records that were provided," she said,
because the records were of Cheyenne's teeth before all of her adult
ones grew in. "We're going to have to do DNA," Brown said, adding that
it is a lengthy process, beginning with the bones being transported to
a facility at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, DNA being
extracted from the bones and those samples then being compared to
either the mother and father or just one of the parents. While no
positive identification has been made, "there is a body in those
containers consistent with your victim based on her size and the age of
her bones and the medical condition that was reported that she had —
everything is consistent with the little girl," Umatilla County Sheriff
John Trumbo said. He declined to specify what medical condition
Cheyenne had. Brown also has said that the Remains appear to be
Cheyenne’s. Cheyenne's father, 35-year-old Abel Wolf, and stepmother,
40-year-old Denise Ann Wolf, were arrested southwest of Havre July 2 on
warrants from Oklahoma that charged them with unlawful removal of a
body. Those charges have been officially filed in Bryan County District
Court in Oklahoma. The couple has waived their right to an extradition
hearing and will remain in the Hill County Detention Center without
bond until transportation is arranged to take them back to Oklahoma.
The Bryan County Sheriff's office will handle the arrangements, Brown
said. "Normally we don't announce when we're going to pick somebody
up," she said and added that to do so poses a security risk. The
Oklahoma warrants claim the couple buried their daughter in Bokchito,
Okla., after her death in April 2008 and then dug her up and moved her
body several times between Oklahoma, Oregon and Montana over the
following year. According to affidavits, the couple became upset with
Cheyenne during dinner because she would not eat. When Abel went
outside for a while, he heard a loud thump. Cheyenne seemed to be
acting strangely when he returned inside, but nothing seemed wrong, and
she went to bed. The following morning, Denise called him and told him
to come home because of a problem with Cheyenne. She told him Cheyenne
was dead when he got there. "It's possible that one of her siblings
actually beat her to death," Brown said. Based on a signed affidavit
from reports by Denise's brother, Edward Davis, and his daughter,
Tricia J. Wells of Alvarado, Texas, Cheyenne's sister beat her before
Denise found Cheyenne's body. "Davis ... informed your affiant that
when Denise Wolf lived in Oklahoma on one occasion she went into the
house and found (Cheyenne's sister) kicking and stomping Cheyenne Wolf
in the bedroom. Cheyenne Wolf was already dead," according to the
affidavit.

Two parents accused of moving their daughter's body through three different states are back in Oklahoma.Abel
and Denise Wolf were returned from Montana after investigators found
their 11-year-old daughter's body in Oregon. Police said they believe
Cheyenne Wolf was killed in the Bryan County town of Bokchito.The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation in looking into the case for the Bryan County District Attorney.The parents have offered different stories about what happened to their daughter, investigators said.Denise
Wolf told police that she walked into the house in April 2008 and saw
Cheyenne's two sisters kicking her and that the girl was already dead.Abel
Wolf said he was upset because Cheyenne was not eating and went out for
a smoke. He said he heard a thump, put Cheyenne to bed and she died in
her sleep.Investigators said the couple did not report the
girl's death and buried her under the porch of their home. They
eventually moved the remains to Oregon and Montana until a relative
called police to report that Cheyenne was missing.The Federal
Bureau of Investigation found Cheyenne's body in an Oregon storage
unit. Tests are being conducted to figure out how she died.The Wolfs were arrested in Montana and returned to Oklahoma over the weekend to face charges of improperly removing a body.

A husband and wife accused of concealing the body of a 12-year-old girl
and moving the remains from state to state are in the Bryan County Jail
on $500,000 bond.

Abel Wolf, 35, and his wife Denise Wolf, 40,
who were arrested earlier this month in Havre, Mont., on local charges
of unlawful removal of a dead body, had an initial court appearance
Monday afternoon.

They arrived in Bryan County at approximately 3 a.m. Sunday by airplane.

The couple is charged with concealing the remains of Mr. Wolf’s daughter,
Cheyenne Wolf, 12, who died when the family lived in the 1900 block of
North Philadelphia Road in the Bokchito area.

Mr. and Mrs. Wolf showed little emotion during Monday’s court appearance. Mr. Wolf told
the court his last residency was in Havre, and Mrs. Wolf claimed Oregon
as her current residency, although both were arrested in Havre.

Both said they were not guilty when asked by District Judge Mark Campbell.

Campbell told them to have an attorney by Aug. 5 and he set a preliminary hearing conference Aug. 12.

Local authorities began investigating in June when an Ardmore police
detective contacted the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office and said he
received information that a girl may have been murdered in Bryan County
approximately 14 months ago, and that the victim may have been buried
in Bryan County.

Sheriff’s Investigator John Bates contacted Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Houston about the case.

Authorities learned that Cheyenne was physically disabled and that she attended
school at Calera and most recently, Rock Creek. She was withdrawn from
school in January 2008.

Mr. Wolf, when contacted by Houston, said that in April 2008, the family was upset with Cheyenne because she would not eat, and that he went outside to smoke, an affidavit states.
He heard a “thump” from inside the home and when he went back inside,
Cheyenne seemed incoherent.

Mr. Wolf said he put Cheyenne to bed
and the next day, Mrs. Wolf told him she was dead, according to the
affidavit. The couple agreed to not report the death, according to
authorities, and Mrs. Wolf has declined to speak to investigators.

Cheyenne’s body was first placed in a shed and later buried under the porch,
according to Mr. Wolf’s statements. The body was then taken to Havre
when the family moved there in the summer of 2008.

The affidavit states that the body was moved to Milton-Freewater, Oreg., in January
2009, where it remained until investigators recovered it inside two
plastic tubs at a storage building.

A cause of death has not been determined by Oregon authorities and there is no sign of visible
trauma to the remains, according to Bryan County Sheriff Bill Sturch.

Sturch said the remains are expected to be transported to Oklahoma in the next
few days for additional testing, including DNA testing.

“We don’t have positive proof that it is her, but we are 99-percent sure that it is,” Sturch said.

Unlawful removal of a dead body carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to Sturch, the couple could face additional charges of child abuse or
neglect that may have occurred prior to Cheyenne’s death.

“There is the possibility of additional charges based upon what I’ve seen and what is going on,” Sturch said.

No motive for not reporting Cheyenne’s death has been revealed, although a
family member told Houston that Mrs. Wolf saw a sibling kicking and
stomping on Cheyenne, who was already dead, the affidavit states. The
Wolfs have no prior criminal history.

“There are a lot of questions not answered,” Sturch said. “Basically, if you think a child
is dead or is in danger of dying, why wouldn’t you call an ambulance
and the sheriff’s office?”

A couple accused of concealing the remains of their 12-year-old daughter face new charges.

Bryan County prosecutors charged Denise Wolf
with child abuse and child abuse by neglect and Abel Wolf with enabling
child abuse and child abuse by neglect Monday.

Both are accused of hiding Cheyenne Wolf's
remains and later transporting them to Montana and then Oregon, where
they were discovered last year.

An affidavit states the couple was angry with
Cheyenne the day before her death because she wouldn't eat. Abel Wolf
told investigators he was outside when he heard his wife yell at
Cheyenne, followed by a "loud thud." He saw that Cheyenne had been
injured.

DURANT, OK - The trial of a
Bokchito woman accused of moving the remains of her stepdaughter across
the country began today in Durant.

42-year-old Denise Wolf is facing five counts of
child abuse and one count of unlawful removal of a dead body.
Investigators say she moved the remains of her 12-year-old stepdaughter,
Cheyenne, from Oklahoma to Oregon.

A jury was selected this morning and jurors heard
testimony from Cheyenne's sisters, a forensic anthropologist, and a
federal agent in court today. It's possible the trial could be delayed
by winter weather Tuesday.

If convicted, Wolf could face 5
life sentences. Her husband, Able Wolf, waived his trial at a
preliminary hearing in November. Both are being held in the Bryan County
jail.
http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Trial_for_woman_accused__of_child_abuse_unlawful_removal_of_dead_body_begins_in_Bryan_Co_114975719.html

OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The Oklahoma stepmother of a child
whose remains were packed in plastic tubs and carried across the United
States has been sentenced to life in prison.
Denise Wolf, 42, of Bokchito was convicted Wednesday and given a life
sentence on four counts of child abuse, one count of child abuse by
neglect and one count of unlawful removal of a dead body, The Oklahoman
reported.
Trial testimony showed Cheyenne Wolf, 12, who had spina bifida, wore
leg braces and was incontinent, was routinely beaten and tied to a chair
and a bed by Denise Wolf, the newspaper reported.
Investigators say they think Cheyenne died in April 2008.
Her remains were found in 2009 in a storage facility in Oregon, so
badly decomposed a medical examiner could not determine the cause of
death.
Cheyenne's father Able Wolf is facing the same charges as his wife
and is scheduled to enter a plea later this month. He remains in jail in
lieu of $1.25 million bail.
Bryan County Assistant District Attorney Emily Redman said Cheyenne's
two sisters are in the custody of the state Department of Human
Services.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/02/03/Conviction-in-Oklahoma-abuse-death-case/UPI-30221296760631/#ixzz1CwXR6Hp8

Couple Who Buried, Excavated, Hid Dead Daughter Face Life in Prison

February 16, 2011


An Oklahoma man who was accused of covering up the death of his child
for more than a year and transporting her body across six states nearly
a-half-dozen times has entered a guilty plea to the charges against him.
On Tuesday, 37-year-old Abel Wolf entered a blind plea, meaning no
plea agreement was offered, to a total of four counts. Prosecutors had
charged Wolf with two counts of enabling child abuse, child abuse by
neglect and unlawful removal of a dead body in the 2008 death of his
daughter, 12-year-old Cheyenne Wolf, The Associated Press reported.
According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, authorities
began investigating Cheyenne’s death in May 2009. A relative of the
family contacted Ardmore Police and expressed concern about Cheyenne's
wellbeing, saying that they had not seen the child, who had previously
been diagnosed with Spina Bifida, since April 2008.
Homicide detective Ruben Garcia began a search for answers in the
case that led him to six states that the family was known to have moved
and or travelled to during the 15-month time span. That search
eventually led police to a storage facility in Oregon, where they found
two suspicious containers. Upon further inspection, authorities
determined the contents of those containers were consistent with
decomposing human remains.
"The weight of the containers and the odor that was emitted from them
led us to believe there was some type of decaying flesh in them,"
Umatilla County Sheriff John Trumbo told newsok.com.
The containers were transported 210 miles to the Oregon State Medical
Examiner's Office. While awaiting autopsy results, investigators in
Oklahoma worked to determine how the young child, who used leg braces
and crutches to walk, ended up in the two plastic containers. In an
effort to assemble the facts, authorities in Montana, a state the Wolfs
had recently moved to, picked the couple up and brought them in for
questioning.
According to police affidavits, Abel Wolf said that his family had
got into an argument one evening in April 2008, when Cheyenne refused to
eat her dinner. During the course of that argument, Wolf said that he
and another daughter went outside to have a cigarette. Wolf said that
roughly 15 minutes later he heard a "thump" and went back inside to
investigate, at which time he observed that Cheyenne appeared to be in a
daze. Wolf said he examined her pupils and, seeing nothing abnormal,
put her to bed.
Wolf said he did not check on Cheyenne the following morning and that
he went to work at a local casino where he repaired slot machines. It
was not until later that night, Wolf said, that he discovered his
daughter had died.
Instead of reporting the death, Wolf said he and his wife,
40-year-old Denise Wolf, decided to put her inside a plastic container,
which they hid in an outdoor storage shed.
The plastic container soon began to emit a pungent odor. Police said
Wolf then buried his daughter's body under the front deck of their
mobile home. Cheyenne's body remained hidden in the ground until August
2008, when persistent questions from inquisitive friends and neighbors,
along with an incident in which another one of their children was placed
in a hospital, convinced the Wolfs to pack up and move to Havre, Mont.
It was then, police said, that the couple dug up Cheyenne's remains and
placed them into three large bags. They put two bags in one plastic
container and the other in a second container. After transporting the
containers to Montana, the Wolfs put them inside a garage.
The containers remained inside the garage until January 2009, when
the Wolfs moved to Milton-Freewater, Ore. There, police said they first
hid them inside a chicken coop and then in a storage shed. Cheyenne's
remains were allegedly kept in the shed until February 2009, when they
were moved to the storage facility where they were found.
As a result of the discovery and the Wolfs' statements to police, the
couple was initially charged with unlawful removal of a body.
A forensic pathologist ruled the manner and cause of Cheyenne's death
as unknown, but further investigation revealed there was reason to
believe she had been abused.
According to court documents, Abel Wolf said he felt his wife had
caused the injuries to Cheyenne, which ultimately resulted in her death.
"Abel Wolf explained that Denise Wolf abused Cheyenne and that Denise
Wolf would tie Cheyenne to a chair during the day and tie her to a bed
at night because Denise Wolf did not like having to clean up after
Cheyenne," court documents read.
When police questioned Denise, she denied the abuse and told them Cheyenne's sister, could be involved in her death.
"On one occasion [Denise] went into the house and found [a sister]
kicking and stomping Cheyenne Wolf in the bedroom," the police report
reads.
When police questioned the sister, she told them she had been
instructed to lie about her Cheyenne’s death. She said she witnessed
Wolf repeatedly spank her and whip her with a belt.
As a result of the investigation, the additional charges of enabling
child abuse and child abuse by neglect were filed against Abel Wolf. Two
counts of child abuse and one count of child abuse by neglect were also
filed against Denise Wolf. During their arraignment, both entered not
guilty pleas.
Denise Wolf’s case went to trial on Jan 31. After listening to two
days of testimony in the case, a jury deliberated for less than 30
minutes before finding her guilty on all four counts. Wolf showed no
emotion when the verdict was announced.
The jury recommended Wolf be sentenced to five life terms on the
child abuse charges and five years for moving the girl’s body from state
to state. She will be sentenced March 3.
As a result of his guilty pleas, Abel Wolf faces up to three consecutive life terms. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 18.
http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_report/2011/02/couple-who-buried-excavated-hid-dead-daughter-face-life-in-prison.html

Describing her as “unfit for society,” Bryan
County District Judge Mark Campbell sentenced a Bokchito woman to life
in prison in the death of her stepdaughter, whose remains were carried
across the country in plastic tubs.



District Attorney Emily Redman said Denise Wolf, 42, appeared jovial during Thursday’s hearing.“The Legislature does not allow me to give you the punishment you
deserve,” Campbell said in formally sentencing her to five life terms,
the punishment chosen last month by a Bryan County jury.The sentences will be served consecutively. Wolf also was fined $30,000.“You will draw your last breath behind the walls of a state prison,” Campbell said.Wolf, who testimony showed routinely tied Cheyenne Wolf to a chair and
beat her, was convicted of four counts of child abuse, one count of
child abuse by neglect and another count of unlawful removal of a dead
body, for which she was given five years, Redman said.Investigators think Cheyenne, who had spina bifida and wore leg braces, died in April 2008, when she was 11. Her remains were buried at the family home and then dug up and stuffed
in plastic tubs and taken to a storage facility in 2009 in Oregon, trial
testimony showed.“If you ever have a conscience, I hope you are haunted ... for all that
you did, but I don’t think you will be because you are smiling and
smirking,” Campbell said during the sentencing in Durant.James Thornley, Wolf’s attorney, could not be reached for comment.Abel Travis Wolf, 37, the child’s father, pleaded guilty last month to
enabling child abuse, child abuse by neglect and unlawful removal of a
body. His sentencing is set for March 18.Due to the decomposition of Cheyenne’s body, the medical examiner could
not determine the exact cause and manner of death. The Wolfs were not
charged with killing her.A Texas judge awarded Abel Wolf custody of Cheyenne and two other
daughters when he and the biological mother were going through divorce
proceedings, Redman said. The two surviving daughters are in state
custody.
Read more: http://newsok.com/bryan-county-judge-sentences-stepmother-for-abuse-calls-her-unfit-for-society/article/3546112#ixzz1Fk2hWvRL