Multicounty grand jury takes up ‘cold case’
Oklahoma’s multicounty grand jury is looking into a mystery a decade old: the fatal shooting of a married couple at their rural home near Locust Grove.
Grand jurors took up the cold case Tuesday on their first of three days of closed sessions in Oklahoma City.
Jack and Elaine Denney were shot multiple times in the dining room of their secluded home a day or two before Christmas in 2007. Their daughter found the bodies when she, her husband and their children came to exchange presents Christmas Day.
Jack Denney was 65 and had recently retired from the Grand River Dam Authority. His wife was 66.
Seen arriving Tuesday to appear before the grand jury was Cherokee County Undersheriff Jason Chennault, who investigated the case. Putting on evidence to the grand jury was Cherokee County District Attorney Jack Thorp.
The DA declined to comment Tuesday evening.
The case has long been a puzzle to law enforcement because there were no signs of forced entry and valuables in the home were not taken.
Investigators at the time said there also was no evidence of a struggle. Food had been cooking on the stove, and a television was on.
In December, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation again offered a reward of up to $10,000 “for information that helps develop new, credible leads.”
“For a decade now, agents have conducted countless interviews and performed polygraph examinations, while forensic analysts tested possible evidence in the case,” the OSBI said.