| Updated: 8/31/2012 5:19 pm |
Published: 8/31/2012 10:18 am
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The young man charged with a notorious attack on an elderly couple in their Tulsa home faced a judge today.
That judge decided there is enough evidence for a trail. The charges against Tyrone Woodfork include first degree murder and two counts of rape. Police say Woodfork admitted beating Bob and Nancy Strait in March. Nancy Strait died the next day and her husband passed away weeks later.
The state called a forensic a nurse who specializes in sexual assault exams. Her testimony had a powerful affect on the courtroom.
Lynn Galloway treated Nancy Strait for sexual assault at St. John Medical Center on March 14th. She told the court that she documented 17 different injuries on Nancy Strait’s body. While she gave graphic testimony, Tyrone Woodfork sat slumped in his chair with his head down and his eyes on the floor.
The nurse told the courtroom that in all of her years of performing sexual assault exams, Nancy’s injuries were the most extensive that she had ever seen. The Strait family was in court during all of this and was noticeably upset.
Because of the horrific nature of this crime, the state could possibly ask for the death penalty.
"When it is a potential death penalty case there is an extreme amount of work that goes into it,” says Woodfork’s attorney, Shena Burgess.
At one point during the hearing, Tyrone Woodfork’s family came in. FOX23 tried to speak with them about their son, but they refused to talk about the case.
Burgess says she will speak with Woodfork over the weekend about what will happen next.
"Obviously we are going to be ordering the transcript so we can review the testimony from today and the last preliminary hearing so we can decide what motions we'll file to go forward,” she says.
Woodfork is expected back in court on September 4th; however both sides expect a continuance as the state could request the death penalty. Woodfork will head to trial for murder, rape, assault and battery and robbery charges.
