THE MURDER OF CARINA BRIANNE SAUNDERS: PART TWO

BETHANY – Before we jump into Part Two, we just want to say we're doing our very best to present the most accurate information that we possibly can. This case has a lot of moving parts, a lot of reports, and a ton of information to sort through. So that being said, if we accidentally miss something or get a detail wrong, please let us know. Some days our fingers tend to move faster than our brains can compute, and we're human, so mistakes are bound to happen. If you catch one, just let us know and we will gladly fix it.

As you'll soon learn, this case is very complex. To this day there are still so many unanswered questions and most importantly, justice has not been served for Carina and her family. In our opinion, that justice is long overdue.

Something to keep in mind while reading, prosecutors need solid, admissible evidence to bring criminal charges and prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt in court. After nearly 15 years since Carina's murder, investigators are still working to gather the evidence they believe is needed to move the case forward.

And while investigators have continuously pursued every lead and tip over the years, Carina's family has continued to wait, hoping each new development may finally bring the answers they've been searching for so long and that those responsible will be brought to justice to the fullest extent of the law. So, let's continue piecing together what happened to Carina, one fact at a time, as we follow the investigation and the search for the justice she deserves.

After Carina's remains were officially identified in October of 2011, investigators began working backward to piece together a timeline of her final days. Their goal was to determine where Carina had been, who she had been with, and ultimately who was responsible for this horrific crime.

That's when investigators learned that Carina had been captured on surveillance footage at the Newcastle Casino from a witness who came forward. The alleged video shows Carina leaving the casino in a red pickup truck with a brush guard on the front and lights mounted on top. It appeared there were already four men inside the truck before Carina got in. But before she entered the vehicle, one of the men got out, walked over, and spoke with her briefly. It's also noted that the man appeared to have full sleeve tattoos covering both of his arms. It's also reported that there may have been a second vehicle in the parking lot that day. That vehicle was reportedly occupied by several females, and it was believed that the women were trying to convince Carina not to get into the truck with the group of men. This surveillance footage was allegedy captured on October 8th, 2011.

However, it was brought to our attention by Carina's sister that this account may not be true as this footage was not released to the OSBI when they took over the case, and it was technically hearsay that detectives learned from a witnesses' account, who currently will not speak further about that matter with Carina's family.

So, since her remains were discovered on October 13th, that leaves a pretty small window of time in which investigators believe she was killed. It's also worth mentioning that the medical examiner noted that Carina appeared to have been deceased for approximately three to four days when her remains were found. So, based on that timeline alone, it could suggest that her death may have occurred sometime between October 9th and October 10th. However, that's simply an inference we've made based on the available information and should not be taken as an official finding, as investigators have never publicly confirmed the exact date or time of Carina's death.

As investigators continued interviewing people connected to the case, they also questioned Kenneth Richards, often referred to as Kenny. According to publicly available reports, Kenny told investigators that he picked Carina up from Taco Bell on Sept. 28th before later dropping her off at an apartment complex in Bethany. If you remember from Part One, Keegan, who said he went to high school with Carina, told investigators he later saw her staying at Studio 41 Apartments. While it has never been officially confirmed that this was the same apartment complex where Kenny claimed he dropped her off, the locations appear to line up based on the publicly available information. Again, that connection has never been officially confirmed by investigators. It's just an inference we've made based on the publicly available information.

Since Kenny was, at that point in the investigation, believed to be one of the last people known to have seen Carina before the Newcastle Casino surveillance footage came to light, investigators continued looking into his whereabouts during the days leading up to the discovery of Carina's remains and collected evidence from his Chevy Blazer. According to forensic records, a small section of carpet was removed from the vehicle and tested for the possible presence of blood or other biological evidence. However, the testing did not reveal any blood or biological evidence in that specific carpet sample.

But the investigation involving Kenny didn't end there. According to a search warrant executed in 2017, investigators received a tip via email alleging that Kenny had buried Carina's personal belongings, including clothing and her missing remains, inside a metal tank on property where he had previously lived before moving out about a year after Carina's remains were found. Based on that information, agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation obtained a search warrant and searched the property. They dug through several areas of the yard and did, in fact, locate a metal tank. Inside that tank, investigators reported finding a pair of sandals, several items of women's clothing, and a folding knife. However, it has never been publicly confirmed whether any of those items belonged to Carina, and it also has never been publicly confirmed that any human remains were recovered during that search.

But that wasn't the only search warrant investigators obtained involving Kenny. According to court documents, in May of 2017, OSBI investigators also got a search warrant for Kenny's cellphone. Investigators wanted to gain access to information stored on his phone, including text messages, photos, videos, internet browsing history, GPS data, contacts, call logs, emails, social media accounts, and other information they believed could possibly help them move the investigation forward. The affidavit also stated that investigators believed his phone could contain evidence related to drug distribution offenses they were also investigating at the time. However, the search warrant did not reveal what, if anything, was ultimately found on his phone.

And before we go any further, we're going to backtrack a little bit because the timeline can get a little confusing. While we went over the 2017 search warrant, it's important to remember that the Bethany Police Department did lead the investigation up until 2013, when the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation stepped in and officially took over the case. We know we’re jumping around a lot, but we are trying to give you the full picture as best as possible, so hang in there with us.

According to court documents, investigators suspected that Carina may have been tortured prior to her murder. They also alleged that her murder may have taken place in front of several women. According to those same documents, investigators believed the women were involved in some kind of human trafficking operation and theorized that Carina's murder may have been carried out as a warning to the other women about what could happen if they tried to leave or refused to cooperate. Those same witnesses allegedly told investigators that Carina may have been murdered inside a home on South Harvey Avenue. Based on that information provided, investigators went to the home on South Harvey Avenue to investigate it. Unfortunately, when investigators arrived, the home was gone. All that remained was an empty lot and a concrete slab where the house had once stood. According to court documents, the home had been demolished on October 13th, 2011, the very same day Carina's remains were discovered. Whether the timing of the demolition was just a coincidence or somehow could be related to the investigation has never been publicly addressed by investigators. As far as we know, the authorities have never officially stated that the two events were connected or that the home was demolished in an attempt to cover up or destroy evidence. And yes, we sound like a broken record, but it's important for us to note that these allegations and theories come from official court documents and have never been proven in court.

Before we continue, we want to make something clear. This next portion comes from investigative affidavits and search warrant documents. These records outline what investigators believed at the time and the probable cause they presented to a judge in support of their requests for search warrants. They are not findings of guilt, and many of the allegations and investigative theories contained in these documents were never tested in court.

According to a search warrant affidavit, investigators searched an apartment at the Will Rogers Housing Complex in December of 2011. Inside the apartment, detectives reportedly found what appeared to be blood evidence, hair inside of a freezer, and a knife that allegedly contained bloodstains. They also noted that the apartment smelled strongly of bleach and they believed there were signs indicating someone may have attempted to clean before officers arrived. Investigators also interviewed people living near the apartment. According to witness statements included in their investigation, several neighbors reported seeing frequent traffic coming and going from the apartment and claimed they saw a lot of women there. Those statements later became part of the larger investigation. That same affidavit identified five individuals investigators believed were connected to Carina's murder: Jimmy Massey, Alejandro Rojas, Michael Knight, Luis Soto, and Francisco Gomez.

The affidavit also states that the apartment belonged to Michael Knight, an alleged gang member. According to statements contained in the affidavit, Jimmy Massey told investigators that Michael lived there with a woman named Rachel. Based on the information they had gathered at the time, investigators believed both Michael and Rachel may have played roles in Carina's murder.

Then, in July 2012, investigators believed they had finally caught a break in the case. Prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges against Jimmy Massey and Luis Ruiz in connection with Carina's murder. Those charges were based on the evidence investigators had collected after executing the search warrant at Knight's apartment, along with the various witness statements they had gathered up to that point. At that time, investigators were holding many of the details surrounding Carina's murder very close to the vest.

According to court documents, several witnesses provided detectives with information that included details about the crime that had never been released publicly and that investigators believed were consistent with the medical examiner's findings. But sadly, in February of 2013, the Oklahoma County District Attorney ended up dismissing the murder charges without prejudice after one of their key witnesses ended up recanting portions of her original statements. But something important we need to note here is that a dismissal without prejudice does not mean the investigation is over or that the individuals were found innocent. It just means the charges can be filed again in the future when investigators develop enough evidence to support the prosecution.

Something we do have to point out is that, based on everything investigators uncovered during the course of their investigation, agents with the OSBI believed a video of Carina's actual murder could possibly exist. That belief is reflected in court documents and is one of the reasons the OSBI offered a reward in 2016 for information that could lead investigators to the alleged video. The reward was renewed again in 2017. As far as has been publicly disclosed, investigators have never announced that the alleged video was located or recovered. Sadly, in more recent years, Carina's case was transferred to the OSBI's Cold Case Unit. While being assigned to a cold case unit does not mean an investigation has stopped, it does reflect that the case remains unsolved.

This case, like they all do, sits very heavy with us. Carina was only 19 years old and had her whole life ahead of her. Our hearts continue to be with everyone who loves and misses her. We truly hope the day comes when those responsible are finally held accountable and Carina finally receives the justice she deserves. Until then, we'll continue telling her story, because unsolved should never mean forgotten.

If you have any information about Carina's murder, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, please take this as your sign to contact the OSBI. The detail you think doesn't matter could be the very piece of information investigators have been searching for all these years. Even after nearly 15 years, it's never too late to do the right thing.

Sources: Court records, search warrant affidavits, publicly available investigative documents, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's autopsy report, and publicly available news reports.

Disclaimer: The investigative findings, witness statements, and allegations discussed in this article are taken from official court records and search warrant affidavits. They reflect what investigators believed at the time and have not been proven in a court of law. To date, no one has been convicted of Carina's murder.