In a case that shocked the community of Hugo, Oklahoma, 74-year-old Jeffery Lyn Pierce has been sentenced to 327 months in prison for the murder of his wife, Ronnie Ranea Fitzpatrick-Pierce, in 2020. The sentencing was announced on Tuesday by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The incident unfolded in the couple's home in Hugo, OK. Pierce's defense claimed self-defense, asserting that his wife had allegedly pulled a firearm on him during a heated altercation. However, investigators presented a grim picture of the events, revealing that Pierce had inflicted over sixty stab wounds on his wife.
The prosecution argued that the brutality of the attack appeared inconsistent with a mere act of self-defense.
Because the victim was a member of the Choctaw Nation, the case was elevated to federal court.
