Police searching for suspect after Oklahoma City weekend homicide
At 4:40 p.m. on Friday, May 23, the Oklahoma City Police Department responded to a reported stabbing near 1700 S Robinson Ave. There, officers found Richard Curnett, 56, stabbed to death, according to police reports.
After conducting investigations, the OKCPD identified River Curnett, 26, as a suspect. Police interviewed his mother, Deborah Curnett, who said Richard Curnett was her first cousin, and the two "stayed together for about 16 years," according to an affidavit. The three of them lived in several tents at the same homeless encampment, court documents say.
According to an affidavit, Deborah informed officers that River suffers from "severe mental health problems like multiple personalities and is a violent person." She also said that River believed Deborah and Richard "were in a romantic relationship, and River did not like that."
Deborah told police River had prior violent incidents with family members, "never liked" Richard, and had stabbed him in the neck in the past, according to the affidavit.
When the incident occurred, Deborah told police that she screamed and attempted to stop River, which resulted in a laceration to her hand, court documents state.
Documents state that Deborah and another witness claim River "had been planning to do this."
Police say River Curnett fled the scene on foot and was last seen near Will Rogers Airport attempting to leave the state. He has yet to be charged.
According to court documents, River Curnett has been accused of the following:
Murder, 1st Degree
Domestic Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon
Police ask the public to call 911 if they see River Curnett, and do not approach him as he may or may not be armed.
The public may also submit tips to local authorities online or by calling (405) 235-7300 or the Homicide Tip Line at (405) 297-1200.
This story was updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC police searching for suspect after alleged homicide over weekend
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
Teen Did 13 Cartwheels on the Beach, Then She Went Blind
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. What began as a lighthearted moment among friends turned into a months-long ordeal for Deborah Cobb of Seattle, when cartwheels on the beach left her unable to see. "I decided to see how many cartwheels I could do in a row just for fun," Cobb, now 42, told Newsweek. "So I started doing them and got to 13 and fell over super dizzy. My eyes were kind of spinning so it took a moment to realize that my eyes weren't focusing." Aged just 19 at the time, she was laughing with friends at first, but quickly realized something was seriously wrong. "Looking at her face, it was a giant orange blur. My eyes wouldn't fully focus," she said. "There was no pain, and my peripheral vision was fine, but everything I looked directly at was blocked by an orange blur." It was a giant orange blur. My eyes wouldn't fully focus Despite the symptoms, Cobb tried to stay calm. "I was panicking inside, but not outwardly so my friends didn't think anything of it," she said. Later that night, she told her mother what happened but downplayed the symptoms. When her vision hadn't returned by the next morning, her stepfather contacted a family friend who was an ophthalmologist. "He said to immediately take me to the ER so that's what we did," she said. At the hospital, doctors initially believed she had "essentially sunburned" her retina, advising rest and avoidance of bright light. But a retinal specialist offered a more serious diagnosis. "I had hemorrhaged in both of my maculas and it was going to take three-six months to fully heal," Cobb said. A picture from the viral Instagram video where Deborah shared story. A picture from the viral Instagram video where Deborah shared story. @deborahcobb_ihp/Instagram "The retina is the thin sheet of 'wallpaper' like tissue that lines the back of our eye and senses light," Dr. Rajesh C. Rao, who is a ophthalmologist who specializes in surgery of the retina, told Newsweek. "Macular hemorrhage is bleeding within the central retina or underneath it. When bleeding happens in the macula, our ability to see in detail can be reduced or lost." I couldn't read, I couldn't see myself in the mirror... I couldn't even watch TV." The impact on her daily life was profound. "My central vision was completely gone... I couldn't drive, I couldn't read, I couldn't see myself in the mirror... which meant I couldn't put on makeup... I couldn't even watch TV," she said. It wasn't until a while after the incident that the reality of her condition hit her. "I started sobbing. It was the first time that it fully hit me how limited I was and how dependent I was on other people for simple things like reading which I had completely taken for granted," Cobb said. "In healthy individuals, especially young people, this occurrence is quite rare," Rao explained. While there are some underlying conditions that could contribute to a hemorrhage like this, it is unlikely that these activities would cause this sort of damage in most people. "The head being upside down abruptly or repeatedly can also increase pressure in veins in the retina, and some at risk individuals can be prone for macular hemorrhage," Rao said. After around three months, Cobb's vision did return, but now years later, she still lives with limitations, including flashes of light and floaters caused by retinal jelly detachment. "The only option is surgery, but surgery almost always causes cataracts which would only mean another surgery. So I'm okay to just live with it," she said. Despite it all, Cobb holds tightly to the perspective the experience gave her: "We so often focus on what's going wrong in our lives, that we miss all of the things that are going right... There are so many simple gifts that could be bringing us joy every day, if we just learned to appreciate them. That's what this experience taught me: never stop being grateful."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Body cam video shows Oklahoma doctor being arrested in daughter's murder charge
In a quiet gated community in Oklahoma City, armed officers from the local police department and the U.S. Marshals crept toward the front door of a home. They were there to carry out the arrest of a Oklahoma pediatrician who authorities say murdered her 4-year-old daughter and tried to stage the death as a drowning while vacationing in South Florida. Newly released body camera footage from the Oklahoma City Police Department captures the moments when 36-year-old Neha Gupta was taken into custody at her four-bedroom, three-bathroom home on July 1. Just four days earlier, her daughter, Aria Talathi, had been found lifeless in a pool around 4 a.m. at their vacation rental home in El Portal. The footage shows officers cutting across a manicured lawn before approaching the front door. They bang loudly, announcing themselves: 'Police with a warrant, open the door! Do it now!' When no one answers, they force the door open. 'Neha Gupta, come to the front door now,' one officer shouts, adding the U.S. Marshals have a warrant for her arrest. There's no response. READ MORE: Doctor staged drowning to cover up daughter's murder during Miami vacation: MDSO As officers step inside, they move carefully with weapons drawn. Just inside the entryway, a stroller can be seen. To the left, a pink child's dollhouse sits by the wall—reminders of the child who had once lived there. Locked in room As they search the home, officers check cluttered closets and rooms scattered with children's toys. A small pink jacket hangs on a hook. Their search leads them to a shut laundry room door. They undo a child safety lock, open the door, and find Gupta standing in the dark, wearing what appears to be matching pajamas and white flip-flops. Officers order her to the ground. She kneels, placing her hands behind her back as they handcuff her. She is escorted through the garage, past stacks of cardboard boxes and a white Nissan parked inside. READ MORE: Pediatrician accused of staging child's death is back in Miami and behind bars Gupta spent the next 17 days in an Oklahoma City jail before being extradited to Miami-Dade County, where she has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter. She remains at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after a judge denied her bond. 911 call to El Portal home In the predawn hours of June 27, officers from El Portal Police Department and paramedics from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue rushed to a 911 call reporting a child was found unresponsive in a swimming pool at a home at 156 NW 90th St. in El Portal. Gupta took the officers to the backyard, where her daughter Aria was found submerged in the deep end of the pool, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, which took over the investigation from El Portal Police. The doctor and her daughter had arrived in South Florida on June 25 and were renting the house as a short-term Airbnb rental. Gupta's attorney, Richard Cooper, previously told the Miami Herald that MDSO did not conduct a full investigation before Gupta's arrest. 'Dr. Gupta fully cooperated with law enforcement and gave multiple statements that never wavered in consistency,' Cooper said. 'Rather than conduct a thorough investigation, which could require multiple autopsies and toxicology analyses, the MDSO decided to apply for a warrant for a grieving mother going through the unimaginable. We look forward to all the facts coming to light.' No water in girl's lungs: autopsy A preliminary autopsy of Aria conducted by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office revealed no water in Aria's lungs or stomach, ruling out drowning. Instead, doctors found bruising inside the child's cheeks and cuts in her mouth — injuries inconsistent with any resuscitation attempts, Gupta's warrant read. The autopsy findings suggested Aria had died from asphyxiation by smothering before being placed in the pool. Gupta told authorities that the day before Aria died, she and her daughter had spent the day at the beach and riding personal watercraft before returning to their vacation home and eating dinner. After their meal, she said, they shared a bed and went to sleep. At around 3:20 a.m., Gupta said she was awakened by a noise and realized Aria was no longer in bed. She told investigators she found the sliding glass door open and discovered Aria submerged in the pool. Gupta said she couldn't swim but tried to rescue her for 10 minutes before calling 911. Gupta is set to be arraigned on Aug. 7, according to court records.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Miami Herald
Body cam video shows Oklahoma doctor being arrested in daughter's murder charge
In a quiet gated community in Oklahoma City, armed officers from the local police department and the U.S. Marshals crept toward the front door of a home. They were there to carry out the arrest of a Oklahoma pediatrician who authorities say murdered her 4-year-old daughter and tried to stage the death as a drowning while vacationing in South Florida. Newly released body camera footage from the Oklahoma City Police Department captures the moments when 36-year-old Neha Gupta was taken into custody at her four-bedroom, three-bathroom home on July 1. Just four days earlier, her daughter, Aria Talathi, had been found lifeless in a pool around 4 a.m. at their vacation rental home in El Portal. The footage shows officers cutting across a manicured lawn before approaching the front door. They bang loudly, announcing themselves: 'Police with a warrant, open the door! Do it now!' When no one answers, they force the door open. 'Neha Gupta, come to the front door now,' one officer shouts, adding the U.S. Marshals have a warrant for her arrest. There's no response. READ MORE: Doctor staged drowning to cover up daughter's murder during Miami vacation: MDSO As officers step inside, they move carefully with weapons drawn. Just inside the entryway, a stroller can be seen. To the left, a pink child's dollhouse sits by the wall—reminders of the child who had once lived there. Locked in room As they search the home, officers check cluttered closets and rooms scattered with children's toys. A small pink jacket hangs on a hook. Their search leads them to a shut laundry room door. They undo a child safety lock, open the door, and find Gupta standing in the dark, wearing what appears to be matching pajamas and white flip-flops. Officers order her to the ground. She kneels, placing her hands behind her back as they handcuff her. She is escorted through the garage, past stacks of cardboard boxes and a white Nissan parked inside. READ MORE: Pediatrician accused of staging child's death is back in Miami and behind bars Gupta spent the next 17 days in an Oklahoma City jail before being extradited to Miami-Dade County, where she has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter. She remains at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after a judge denied her bond. 911 call to El Portal home In the predawn hours of June 27, officers from El Portal Police Department and paramedics from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue rushed to a 911 call reporting a child was found unresponsive in a swimming pool at a home at 156 NW 90th St. in El Portal. Gupta took the officers to the backyard, where her daughter Aria was found submerged in the deep end of the pool, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, which took over the investigation from El Portal Police. The doctor and her daughter had arrived in South Florida on June 25 and were renting the house as a short-term Airbnb rental. Gupta's attorney, Richard Cooper, previously told the Miami Herald that MDSO did not conduct a full investigation before Gupta's arrest. 'Dr. Gupta fully cooperated with law enforcement and gave multiple statements that never wavered in consistency,' Cooper said. 'Rather than conduct a thorough investigation, which could require multiple autopsies and toxicology analyses, the MDSO decided to apply for a warrant for a grieving mother going through the unimaginable. We look forward to all the facts coming to light.' No water in girl's lungs: autopsy A preliminary autopsy of Aria conducted by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office revealed no water in Aria's lungs or stomach, ruling out drowning. Instead, doctors found bruising inside the child's cheeks and cuts in her mouth — injuries inconsistent with any resuscitation attempts, Gupta's warrant read. The autopsy findings suggested Aria had died from asphyxiation by smothering before being placed in the pool. Gupta told authorities that the day before Aria died, she and her daughter had spent the day at the beach and riding personal watercraft before returning to their vacation home and eating dinner. After their meal, she said, they shared a bed and went to sleep. At around 3:20 a.m., Gupta said she was awakened by a noise and realized Aria was no longer in bed. She told investigators she found the sliding glass door open and discovered Aria submerged in the pool. Gupta said she couldn't swim but tried to rescue her for 10 minutes before calling 911. Gupta is set to be arraigned on Aug. 7, according to court records.
