Minister Decapitates Wife And Commits Suicide

[bloodrayne]

Divers Continue Search For Retired Minister's Body

Sand Springs - Dive teams have returned to the waters of Shell Creek Lake in search of a man police believe may have beheaded his wife, then jumped into the lake Thursday morning.

The Lake Patrol and possibly divers from the Tulsa Police department are on the scene, where day two of the search for 70-year-old Robert Eugene Bettis, began Friday morning. The bizarre story began Thursday morning, when the caretaker for the lake found an abandoned vehicle.

"My husband came out shortly after that to have a cigarette and he said they must be broke down," says Shirley Sweet. "We went up there and found the keys and the wallet in the car."

Police also discovered a black or dark blue jacket floating in the lake. That's when they began looking for Bettis' body. Officials ran the license plate of the vehicle and went to the corresponding address, a mobile home in Prattville, where the body of Bettis' wife, Sylvia was discovered.

"At that location, the officer that responded found a white female approximately 69 years of age who had been the victim of a homicide," says Sand Springs Assistant Police Chief Mike Carter. "This was indicated by the fact that she was decapitated."

Carter says a possible murder weapon was discovered at the scene. There were no signs of a struggle inside the home and police say they have no motive.

Bettis retired last March from the Victory Assembly of God church. He was a hometown boy who had been involved in his community for decades. We spoke with neighbors, who saw him just hours before the murder. He has been coming to the Crescent Cafe every morning for about the last five years.

"Nice man, talked to everybody," says waitress Kassy Goodman. "Walked booth to booth, friendly with everybody."

Goodman says they just saw him Tuesday after he and his wife voted. The couple was like family here. Now, Bob Bettis is missing, his car found abandoned, his wife Sylvia found brutally murdered in their Sand Springs home. Neighbors say the retired pastor had been in bad health, suffering a recent heart attack.

"He'd been sick and I'd seen the ambulance pick him up a couple of times, but I hadn't seen him in a while," says neigbor Alan Billington.

But no one can fathom the possibility that he could be involved in his own wife's murder. The couple's family are urging police to keep all possibilities open, including the possibility that this could be a double murder and that someone may still be out there who committed the crime.

The last time anyone saw the Bettises alive was Wednesday at about 6:00 p.m., when a neighbor and her daughter delivered candy they had recently purchased.