The jury recommended Scarborough be sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Scarborough was convicted of the stabbing death of his father, Chester, on May 31, 2003, at the elder Scarborough's home in Vian. Chester Scarborough, who celebrated his 69th birthday three days before his death on May 31, was found bleeding to death from 13 stab wounds in his home by neighbors. The stabbing occurred between 10 and 11 p.m., witnesses said.
Schuyler Scarborough was arrested early on June 2 in the Vian apartment of a friend where he had sought refuge the day before.
In a prepared statement, District Attorney Richard Gray said Wednesday afternoon, "Both the first-degree murder verdict and the sentence was what the victim's family and my office wanted. I am pleased with the verdict and believe the jurors of Sequoyah County took their responsibilities seriously in issuing this verdict."
Associate District Judge A.J. Henshaw set Scarborough's sentencing for 10 a.m. Nov. 8, after a pre-sentencing investigation during which Scarborough's previous convictions will be considered. He was convicted of murdering his wife in 1988. He was sentenced to 20 years, but was released in 1997.
The case was prosecuted by Donovan D. Dobbs, first assistant district attorney from Wagoner, and Assistant District Attorney Kyle Waters.
Dobbs said Scarborough showed no emotion when the verdict was read. Dobbs said the jury went into deliberations at about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, and returned with a verdict at about 11:30 a.m.
He said Scarborough only called one defense witness on Wednesday morning. David Nelson testified that he had known Scarborough for about 17 years and knew him to be a good person.
No other defense witnesses were called.
In closing arguments Scarborough told the jury he did not kill his father.
Scarborough acted as his own attorney in his trial. During his questioning of the prosecution witnesses, Scarborough questioned the dates of the alleged stabbing as reported by the witnesses at the time; told Judge Henshaw that he did not receive all the information, especially the names of witnesses called to testify by the prosecution; and questioned the truthfulness of the testimony of the investigating police officers.
Judge Henshaw repeatedly told Scarborough he had to put his statements in the form of questions to the witnesses and to not be argumentative.
Some of the last witnesses called by the prosecution were Woody Scarborough's brother, Jason Scarborough, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper from Claremore; his sister, Carlotta Scarborough, former Vian mayor; and a second sister, Bernadette Scarborough, who broke down as she testified.
Prosecutors Kyle Waters, assistant district attorney, and Donovan Dobbs, first assistant district attorney from Wagoner, asked all three what they hoped to see happen to their brother if he is found guilty.
All three said the same - a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Carlotta Scarborough testified, "Giving him the death penalty is not going to bring my father back...I have buried enough family members. I lost my mom eight months before (her father's death.)"
The district attorney's office has not asked for the death penalty.
The most dramatic testimony erupted when the three Scarborough siblings testified and were then questioned by their brother acting as his own attorney.
Jason Scarborough testified he drove down from Claremore as soon as he heard of his father's death.
To questions from the prosecution, Jason Scarborough said his brother was in the Vian jail when he visited him "He was crying a lot and shaking a lot," Jason Scarborough said.
But Associate District Judge A.J. Henshaw wouldn't let the prosecutors ask about the conversation between the brothers.
Woody Scarborough then questioned his own brother.
Jason Scarborough testified under that cross examination, "I asked you if you killed father. You dropped your head and said 'Yes,' and I prayed with you."
Jason Scarborough said he was not there as an OHP trooper.
"I was there as your bother and a son, trying to find out what happened," Jason Scarborough said.
Woody Scarborough, directing his own questions to his brother, said the statement was hearsay evidence.
Under re-direct examination, Jason Scarborough testified about his brother's possible punishment, "I would want the maximum he could get."
Bernadette Scarborough, who is confined to a wheelchair, said there was a lot of bickering between her father and Woody Scarborough. She testified her father called her in late 2002 and told her, "Your brother must be crazy because he put a knife on the table and said it was time to join his wife."
Woody Scarborough was convicted in 1988 for the shooting death of his common-law wife, and was sentenced to 20 years. He was released on May 21, 1997.
Bernadette Scarborough said she once heard her brother say, "It didn't make a difference whether he killed one of us or all of us."
Carlotta Scarborough testified she also knew there were altercations between her father and brother, but her father didn't want to call police.
Her father, she said, suffered from diabetes, hypertension and arthritis, and was crippled due to the diabetes.
She testified her brother threw her father to the floor once, and she did call the police.
Carlotta Scarborough said when she visited her brother in jail after her father's death, Woody Scarborough was "real withdrawn, crying and curled up in a fetal position.
"I told him 'I hate what you did, but I forgive you.'"
Carlotta Scarborough said her brother said he was sorry and he wanted her to also tell Jason Scarborough that he was sorry.
The prosecution called several witnesses who testified that on the evening of May 31, 2003, Woody Scarborough and Chester Scarborough got in a fight over Woody's dog, which he was tying up in the front yard.
Jonathan Choate, a neighbor, said he heard a commotion at the Scarborough home, and saw the son and father arguing.
The argument escalated, he said, and moved into the house, Choate testified. He said he went to the front door of the home and saw Woody Scarborough kneeling over his father who was lying on the floor. Choate testified that he saw Woody Scarborough's arm pumping, but could not see what was in his hand or what the younger Scarborough was doing to his father.
Choate said he yelled "Woody," and Scarborough stood up and looked at him. "It scared the crap out of me," Choate said. "I've known the defendant for a long time and he never looked at me like that before."
Choate said he left the scene.
Other witnesses testified Woody Scarborough sought money from them or asked for a ride into the woods north of Vian.
Adrian "Ace" Dockery said he and Kay Everett were driving by when Woody Scarborough stopped and asked for a ride. He testified Scarborough got in the pack of Dockery's pickup truck, but jumped out and ran about two blocks away when Everett's son, Robert, ran up to the truck and said Chester Scarborough had been stabbed.
Dockery said he and Everett went to Chester Scarborough's home, and he called 911 for assistance. The 911 tape was later played for the jury, and Dockery was heard asking for help immediately because Chester Scarborough "was bleeding to death."
Edgar A. Brown, a Vian resident, testified he came home late Sunday night (June 1) and found Woody Scarborough in his apartment. Brown testified Woody Scarborough asked if he could spend the night on the couch, and Brown said yes.
Brown testified he went to work the next day and found out Woody Scarborough was a suspect in the stabbing death of Chester Scarborough. Brown said he called Vian police and Scarborough was arrested without incident at Brown's apartment. He has remained in jail since.
The prosecution's last witness, Jerome Lee Olive, said he was a neighbor of the Scarboroughs. He said he "heard a commotion" at their home on May 31 and went to see what was going on. He testified he found Chester Scarborough on the floor, bleeding profusely. He said he tried to stop the bleeding with a towel from the bathroom.
He testified that Chester Scarborough "mumbled Woody's name two times." Olive said Chester Scarborough did not speak again.
Woody Scarborough challenged the witnesses on the times and dates of his father's death, and questioned the legalities of a search warrant for the Scarborough home.
Doug Deer, Vian police chief at the time, testified that when Woody Scarborough was brought to the Vian Police Department he asked him why he had stabbed his father. Deer testified that Woody responded "I was high," and that he had thrown the knife used in the stabbing under the porch.
No knife was ever found, Woody Scarborough pointed out under cross examination.
Dr. Ronald DeStefano of Tulsa, deputy director of the State Medical Examiner's Office, reported Chester Scarborough died of multiple stab wounds to the face, neck and chest, one of which cut the older Scarborough's aorta and punctured a lung.
