An alleged Tulsa-area killer is suspected to be on the run and in the McAlester area.
Terencio Turcios, 41, is believed to have shot and killed his wife, Victoria Turcios, who was found by authorities around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday outside of her apartment in Tulsa, police said. The alleged victim later died at a Tulsa hospital.
Pittsburg County Undersheriff Richard Bedford said Turcios is suspected of killing “his ex” and then going to Glenpool and killing “his ex’s new boyfriend.”
Authorities believed Turcios fled the scene in a white 1993 Nissan truck. Later that evening, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol found the vehicle abandoned by mile marker 81 off the roadway by the Ulan Exit of the Indian Nation Turnpike, said McAlester Police Det. Capt. Gary Wansick.
“Subsequently, several other agencies were contacted,” Wansick said, “including McAlester police, Krebs police, the sheriff’s office and the U.S. Marshals.”
Bedford said, “I believe he had hydroplaned on the turnpike and went off the roadway. An individual picked him up ... and brought him into town.”
Doug and Joann Steidley confirmed they picked up Turcios on Tannehill Road. Authorities later showed the couple his picture of the suspect and Joann Steidley confirmed the man in the picture was indeed the man that they had picked up around 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“We were delivering papers in Ulan,” said Doug Steidley, 69, referring to newspapers he delivers for the McAlester News-Capital. “I came around the curve ... and almost ran over him.”
“He was in the middle of the road,” 64-year-old Joann Steidley added.
“He was flagging me down,” Doug Steidley continued. “It was raining cats and dogs.”
“We kinda felt bad for him,” Joann Steidley said. “We felt sorry for him because it was raining so hard. He told us his car had broken down.”
The Steidleys said after Turcios got in their car, he used their cell phone to make several telephone calls.
“When he got in the car he said he needed to call his brother,” Doug Steidley said. “He called his brother about four or five times.”
“He was speaking Spanish on the phone so we didn’t understand what he was saying,” Joann Steidley added.
“Then he called a different number and talked to someone else,” Doug Steidley continued. “He called that person three or four times.”
That’s when Turcios asked the Steidleys to take him to Texas.
“Then he wanted me to take him to Texas, Dallas,” Doug Steidley said.
“I turned around and said, ‘We can’t do that,’” Joann Steidley said. “He offered to pay for the gas if we took him to Dallas.”
“I said ‘No,’” Doug Steidley added. “I told him I would take him to (U.S. Highway) 270 and Indian Nation (Turnpike) and let him out there and his brother could come pick him up there.”
“He was very nice the whole time,” Joann Steidley said. “At no time did I ever feel threatened.”
“We didn’t find out he had a gun ‘til today,” Doug Steidley added.
Doug Steidley said that he took Turcios to the intersection of State Highway 270 and the Indian Nation Turnpike and dropped him off.
“When I let him out, I gave him my jacket because it was cold out,” Doug Steidley said.
Later, U.S. Marshals questioned the Steidleys about why the suspect was in their car for 45 minutes. Steidley said he told them, “Well, I was delivering newspapers. I had a route I needed to finish.”
Turcios is believed to have entered a McAlester home sometime later Wednesday night, prompting a house-to-house search in the neighborhood and a text, telephone and email message alert to residents.
Wednesday’s night’s alert to residents, sent at about 11 p.m., read:
“BOLO (Be On the Lookout)
“North McAlester area please lock your doors and windows. Suspect (Hispanic) male with long black ponytail involved in a home invasion. If located please call 911.”
At approximately 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, McAlester police responded to a report of a man entering a home on North 14th Street in McAlester, Wansick told the News-Capital.
“A lady reported that she heard a noise in her home,” Wansick said. “She went to the back of her house and found a man had entered her home. When he saw her, he ran out the back door. Later, she was shown a picture of the subject and said she believed (Turcios) is the man who entered her home.”
Wednesday evening, Pittsburg County Sheriff Joel Kerns said officials “pinged” Turcios’ cell phone two times; both times it showed him in the area of State Highway 31 and U.S. Highway 69.
The U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force was still searching for the suspected killer Thursday, Bedford told the News-Capital. “They don’t know if he’s still in the area,” he said Thursday afternoon. “I know they are still here trying to track down leads.”
Meanwhile, Bedford said he is extremely happy with the way the McAlester Police Department, sheriff’s office and other agencies, have worked together on the case.
“MPD actually went door to door last night tracking down possible leads,” Bedford said. “I am happy with our joint efforts on this one.”
If anyone has any information on the location of Turcios, they are asked to contact Pittsburg County Crime Stoppers at 866-970-8477 or the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office at 918-423-5858.
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