Man given death sentence for tot’s death

A 25-year-old Oklahoma man convicted in the beating death of his exgirlfriend’s 2-year-old son has been sentenced to die.

Dustin Melvin Davison was convicted of firstdegree murder last month in the May 18, 2015, beating death of Kreedin Paul Brooks.

An Oklahoma County jury recommended Davison receive the death penalty, and a judge Thursday ordered that Davison be put to death.

Davison’s death sentence is subject to automatic appeal. The child suffered a skull fracture, brain bleeding, a broken jawbone and nearly 50 bruises below the neck.

Jurors found that the child’s death was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel and that Davison would be a continuing threat to society. Defense attorneys argued that the death penalty was “inappropriate” for the case, saying Davison wasn’t in the right state of mind.

Bixby teens’ attorneys want DA recused

Attorneys for four Oklahoma teenagers accused of sexual assault are insisting that a district attorney’s office should be recused from the case.

The Bixby High School students are accused in an attack on a 16-year-old boy with a pool cue last summer.

They’re charged with second-degree rape by instrumentation and have pleaded not guilty.

Defense attorneys said Wednesday that it’s “alarming” the state is indifferent to admitted relationships between the Rogers County District Attorney’s Office and the family of the alleged victim.

The Tulsa World reports that the defense’s filing comes after District Attorney Matt Ballard asked a judge to deny a recusal request for his office.

Defense attorneys argue that Ballard has “implicitly conceded” that there are connections between his staff and the alleged victim’s family. They say that can create at least the appearance of personal bias.

Mushroom hunter finds human remains

A man on the hunt for mushrooms Wednesday instead stumbled upon human remains, authorities said.

The man called Newcastle police, who are searching the area near the 1000 block of NE 34.

Agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and an anthropologist from the state medical examiner’s office are also working to recover the skeletal remains, according to a news release.