Murder case over 1988 drowning is dismissed
TAHLEQUAH – The murder case over an infamous 1988 drowning has been dropped after a key prosecution witness failed to appear at a preliminary hearing.
A state multicounty grand jury indicted James Ray Vogel, 61, of Muskogee, in 2017.
He was accused of drowning Jeanette Ellen Coleman in 1988 after meeting her at bar in Muskogee and raping her.
Fishermen discovered the victim’s decomposing body floating in the Neosho River below the Fort Gibson Dam in Cherokee County on May 7, 1988. Investigators concluded she had drowned after being thrown in the water, a 28pound cement block tied around her waist.
The case received national attention because the victim was known only as “Daisy Doe” until she finally was identified through her fingerprints in 2015. The nickname came from a tattoo of a yellow flower on her shoulder.
Vogel was charged in the grand jury indictment with first-degree murder, engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses and perjury.
Grand jurors specifically alleged he did not act alone in the murder, that he conspired with others to obstruct any investigation and that he lied to them under oath about the death.
His case became bogged down because of the pandemic, the death of his first defense attorney, judicial retirements and witness problems.
A judge dismissed the indictment June 2 at the request of prosecutors after the key witness, Tommy Eugene Morris, again failed to appear for a preliminary hearing.
Cherokee County District Attorney Jack Thorp hopes to refile the case if the witness can be found and persuaded to cooperate. He said he is not sure that will happen.
Thorp said the witness has been scared for his life since being run down in a parking lot.
“We don’t know that it is even associated with his role as a witness, but we believe he does,” the DA said. “It’s incredibly frustrating.”
The victim was the common-law wife of murderer Charles Troy Coleman who was executed in 1990 for a shotgun slaying in Muskogee County.
Jeanette Coleman had been a witness against him for the prosecution. She was 31.
Investigators believe four people were involved in her drowning. Two are dead and there was only enough evidence to charge Vogel, the DA said. Vogel denies involvement.
“Mr. Vogel has maintained that he was not involved in the killing of ‘Daisy Doe,’ ” his attorney, BJ Baker, said Wednesday. “That’s been his story all along.”