Murder trial underway for man who thought friend was summoning bigfoot

A murder trial began Tuesday for an Allen man who allegedly killed his friend, believing his friend was trying to summon sasquatches.

Larry Doil Sanders Sr., 55, is charged with first-degree murder — deliberate intent for the July 9, 2022, killing of Jimmy Glenn Knighten, 52, of Allen.

The state of Oklahoma, represented by District Attorney Erik Johnson and Assistant District Attorney Tara Portillo, called several witnesses, including Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents, and relatives of both Knighten and Sanders.

Knighten and Sanders, on the day of Knighten’s death, had reportedly gone noodling (a type of fishing) on the South Canadian River near Allen.

According to testimony from Knighten’s son, Airyn Knighten, and Larry Sanders’ daughter, Laramie Sanders, who were dating each other, Larry Sanders returned alone to Jimmy Knighten’s residence a few hours after they had left and claimed that he had killed Jimmy Knighten.

Airyn Knighten testified that, when Larry Sanders returned, he was talking fast and described him as frantic.

“I asked him, ‘Where is my dad?’ and he said, ‘He’s not coming back,’” Airyn Knighten said.

Laramie Sanders, who said she did not have a good relationship with her father, indicated that Larry Sanders reportedly said numerous times that he had killed Jimmy Knighten by “choking him out.”

When Portillo asked her how many times Larry Sanders confessed after returning to the house, Laramie Sanders indicated she couldn’t think of a number.

“More than five?” Portillo asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Laramie Sanders replied emphatically.

She described Larry Sanders as being “out of it” and “frantic,” and indicated that he didn’t seem remorseful, and almost had an arrogance about himself.

Justin Brown, a special agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, was called by the state and talked about interrogating Sanders.

Brown said he read Sanders his Miranda warning and testified that Sanders did not appear to be under the influence of any intoxicants.

He indicated that Sanders was eager to speak with him and told fantastical things about Bigfoot.

Sanders reportedly told Brown about the day that he and Jimmy Knighten went noodling.

Sanders reportedly claimed that, after arriving at the river, Knighten moved away from him.

He reportedly told Brown that Jimmy Knighten yelled or howled into a tinhorn, which Sanders interpreted as a call to Bigfoot to come and eat him (Sanders). Sanders was reportedly suspicious of Knighten and thought he was trying to leave Sanders alone so that a sasquatch would come along and eat him.

Sanders reportedly said that he struck Knighten two times with a rotted tree limb, and it reportedly did not affect Knighten.

At some point, Knighten and Sanders were in a struggle, and Sanders reportedly used a chokehold on Knighten until he stopped moving, but Sanders said he didn’t let up until “Jimmy turned blue.”

During cross-examination, Sanders’ defense attorney, Larry Balcerak of Pauls Valley, asked Brown if he had conducted a blood draw on Sanders to reveal whether or not he was under the influence of intoxicants, to which Brown indicated that Sanders was not tested.

When asked if Brown thought Sanders’ comments were delusional, Brown replied that he believed the comments were either delusional or lies.

Balcerak asked if Brown thought that Sanders might be under the influence of methamphetamine from the day before, and Brown said no he did not believe Sanders was under the influence.

At one point, Balcerak asked that District Judge Steven Kessinger suppress any statements that Sanders may have given to law enforcement during the interrogation because he was delusional due to methamphetamine use.

Kessinger ruled that the “court finds” that the confession was “free and voluntary,” and allowed it.

Sanders reportedly indicated to law enforcement that he believed that if he didn’t kill Jimmy Knighten, then he would be killed, presumably by a sasquatch.

At one point, Balcerak asked brown about some scars that Larry Sanders had after the killing — a laceration to the bridge of his nose and scratches on his arms.

Balcerak also asked if Brown had ordered that fingernail clippings be taken off of Sanders and/or Knighten to determine if there was DNA evidence under the nails, to which Brown indicated that no clippings had been taken.

During the cross-examination, Balcerak seemed to indicate that he believed the investigation wasn’t thorough, due mostly in part because the OSBI hadn’t tested Sanders for intoxicants prior to interrogating him, and hadn’t checked under any fingernails for DNA evidence.

After the state rested, Kessinger ordered that the trial continue at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday.