Family waits for answers after victim’s body found inside a cedar chest in eastern Oklahoma
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OKLAHOMA (KOCO) — The family of a 42-year-old woman whose body was found earlier this week in eastern Oklahoma is searching for answers.
Family members told KOCO 5 sister station 40/29 News that Angie Barnes Henshaw loved her children, and grandchildren and loved hunting, fishing and doing anything outdoors.
She was best known by friends as Angie Barnes.
As of Thursday night, family members said they were waiting to hear from the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office to learn exactly how Barnes died.
Barnes was trying to end a 12-year relationship with her boyfriend after it became mentally and physically abusive, according to family members.
They reported her missing to Wister police Tuesday evening after no one could reach her.
Barnes’ sister told 40/29 News that she borrowed an SUV from her sister’s house in Wister to help move into her new home in Heavener, a few miles away.
The sister said what they discovered a few hours later was similar to a real-life horror movie.
Just before midnight, family members were putting flashlights and supplies in the borrowed Chevy Trailblazer to try and look for Barnes in the woods near her home.
Barnes’ sister said that’s when they discovered a cedar chest in the back of the SUV with plastic sticking out of it. She said when they opened it they found Barnes’ body inside the chest, underneath the plastic.
Choctaw Nation Tribal Police and FBI agents were at the Heavener home for nearly 18 hours as members of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Crime Scene Unit gathered evidence.
The 32-year-old boyfriend was arrested and is being held in the LeFlore County Detention Center for suspicion of murder.
He’s expected to appear in Choctaw Nation Tribal Court on Friday for a video arraignment. He’s currently being held without bond.
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