Gerald Don Stice Wants the Death Money
The body of Denise Stice was found on November 27, 2007. She had a gunshot wound to the head and was floating in Lake Overholser. There were signs that not only had this woman been shot, but badly beaten. No one was arrested. The police never named any suspects. Denise Stice was a civilian official at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City. She was well-liked. She was respected. So, why would anyone want to kill Denise Stice? A lot of wives are killed for money.
Gerald Don Stice filed federal lawsuit on March 2, some 28 months after the body of Denise was found dead. He wants her life insurance and retirement benefits -somewhere around $1.25 million dollars. Fair, right? He was her husband after all. But does that mean he should have anything to do with disbursing her estate?
Stice was initially named administrator of his wife's estate. But, things changed. It turned out that Gerald Stice might not be the best choice for administrator of an estate worth over a million dollars. The bank is foreclosing on Denise's home worth near 150,00 dollars. In January of 2009, police Don Stice was caught concealing stolen property, he also was found in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, and hydrocodone, along with a pipe and a scale. I bet a million and a quarter buys an awful lot of meth. Will Stice get his wish? The insurance company isn't paying as long as there is a chance he might be the killer. One of Denise's sisters was appointed administrator of her estate after the court found Stice to be an irresponsible reprobate. Besides that, sometimes it can be kind of hard to administrate anything from jail.
But what's his side of the story?
Stice claims that on November 26, 2007 Denise called him to say she was on her way home, but was going to stop and do some Christmas shopping on the way. However, Don Stice didn't call police when she didn't make it home. In fact, Stice didn't bother to report her missing until after her body was found –a highly publicized event considering a search was for another endangered woman at the time. Denise's car was found at an apartment complex about 3 miles away from her battered body –on a route between the lake and the home she shared with Don Stice. Is all of this coincidence? Perhaps. But there's more to Don Stice to consider.
In 1994 Stice was convicted of sexual battery for an assault he committed in 1992. Stice is a registered sex offender – a status he must maintain for the remainder of his life. Stice was initially charged with first-degree rape for his malicious deed. But, he made a plea deal for a lesser charge. His victim had just finished performing at an Ardmore, Oklahoma Holiday Inn. She was loading up her van when along came Stice. Don Stice just got in her van and attacked her right there on the spot. Afterward, Stice asked his victim if she wanted him to stay. She told the Daily Oklahoman that "There was a callousness to him – an off-handed brutality." She said "It was just like he didn't think he had done anything wrong."
A weird blog post was left at the Cold Case OK blog by someone claiming to be Don Stice's daughter. Note the odd spelling of Don's first name. Could be just a troll, but who knows.:
Dawn is my Father, and dispite his faults I don’t believe it could be him. Although the discription sort of looked liked him(not for sure though.) My mother has a theory though. Why was Denises car parked at a hotel. She was sopposidly soppost to meet a friend there. What if she was having an affair and Dawn found out acted out in rage and killed her. Then reported her missing. It is a possiblilty. He is taking it extremely hard and he is now in prison for drugs for the depression and the heart ache. Being my father I know his past but there is something telling me “Why would he do this.” I guess I will leave it to the investigators.
We don't know who killed Denise Stice. Regardless, I'm sure her money can be put to much better use than drug abuse, larceny, and preying on women. So far, that's the record of Don Stice. How did poor Denise ever get hooked up with a guy like this? It happens all the time. You'd be surprised. People like Stice have learned a few tricks to survive –and they don't seem to quit, even at their lowest. The same is true for Denise's killer. He's still out there.
Justice is waiting. Someone out there may know something. Somewhere lies the key to solving this case. Denise Stice deserves to see justice served. Let us hope that her killer is caught and that he pays the price for her life.
If you have any information about this case, please, call the Oklahoma City Police homicide tip line at (405) 297-1200.
Help close the Denise Stice case at Cold Case OK
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