Becky Ann Vreeland

 

A 62-year-old grandmother from Oklahoma accused of brutally murdering her own 3-year-old granddaughter last year and leaving the child’s body to decompose inside a bin in her yard for several days has appeared in court where a judge ruled that the state’s case against her can move forward. Cleveland County Special Judge Scott F. Brockman ruled that there was sufficient evidence for the case against Becky Ann Vreeland to be bound over for trial. She is facing one count of first-degree murder and one count of desecration of a corpse in the June 2022 slaying of young Riley Lynn Nolan.

According to the initial release from the Oklahoma City Police Department, officers at about 2:22 p.m. on June 21, 2022 responded to a “trouble unknown call” at a home located in the 600 block of SW151 Street. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders learned there was a deceased child at the residence.

“Officers found the body of three-year-old Riley Nolan in a residential trash receptacle at the home. The child had obvious signs of trauma to her body.”

Investigators said that at the time of the incident, young Riley had been under the care of her grandmother, identified in the release as Vreeland. Police transported Vreeland to the department headquarters where she was interviewed and subsequently booked into the Cleveland County Jail on suspicion of murder.

Since her arrest, Vreeland has maintained that she had nothing to do with her granddaughter’s death, repeatedly claiming that Riley fell from a ladder in the backyard.

Disturbing new details about the grisly crime scene were revealed in witness testimony during Tuesday’s hearing. According to an OCPD homicide detective, Riley’s body was discovered inside of a recycling bin right outside of Vreeland’s home. The bin also contained the little girl’s toys and had been covered with two blankets, one of which depicted characters from the movie “Frozen.”

The detective reportedly explained that investigators located blood spatter throughout the home, including in the master bedroom, master bathroom, and several other areas of the home. A total of 28 swabs were taken from inside of the home and analyzed, many of which came back positive for Riley’s DNA.

Additionally, the detective testified that when searching the master bathroom, police found two small, circular indentations in the wall which “appear to be the size of a child’s head."

Last September, Vreeland said that she regularly kept Riley’s toys in the recycling bin in the back of the house. She also said that there was a pool ladder next to the bin, which she supposed Riley climbed up, then fallen off and died. Vreeland reportedly claimed that she found Riley dead when she woke up that morning. Vreeland told the station she did not call the authorities for fear they would take her other grandchildren away from her.

Furthermore, the detective who testified on Tuesday said that the ladder next to the recycling bin was missing its base and would immediately collapse if anyone tried to use it.

Vreeland’s formal arraignment hearing was scheduled for August 18.

Patricia Ricks

 

A 72-year-old North Carolina woman is accused of beating her 8-year-old granddaughter to death. Shortly after 4 p.m. on February 7th, deputies were notified that a child had been taken to the Emergency Room at Nash UNC Healthcare with severe injuries and pronounced dead upon arrival.


"Based on the investigation, it was determined that the 8-year-old juvenile was beaten so severely by the grandmother that she died from the injuries alleged in its statement. The child had severe injuries throughout her entire body and head."


Patricia Ricks was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of felony child abuse with serious injury, police stated.


Ricks was taken to the sheriff's office where she made no statement and is currently being held without bond at the Nash County Detention Center. It was unclear whether she obtained an attorney to speak on her behalf.