The family of a nursing home abuse victim is pushing for justice nearly five years after Mannford Police made arrests in the case.
"Nothing's happened since then. Since they filed the charges and then they were dropped. And here we are five years later,” Dennis Tull said.
The state dismissed one of the suspect's charges, after the Supreme Court ruling on tribal jurisdiction.
But it has taken weeks to learn what entity is investigating the case now.
One of the victims in this case was James Tull. Born in 1936, his early years were spent in overalls on the family farm. After a career as an oilfield consultant, memories captured on camera show time spent with family and his big smile.
"He was a good dad. He was a disciplinarian, you know,” Dennis said. "I loved my dad.”
But it's the picture Senite Smith was accused of taking -- a selfie with James, naked, in the background -- that his son, Dennis, said no one has been held accountable for.
Smith was a CNA at the Cimarron Pointe Care Center back in 2019. His arrest affidavit outlines what police said he and three other suspects did to a total of seven victims, including sharing pictures of a different man's bloody head, with Smith saying in texts he "liked the smell of his blood."
"I think sometimes it's easier to stay away from pain by not, you know, not dealing with it,” Dennis said. “But now I feel like it's time to try to get something going to see, to get some sort of justice."
News On 6 reported the arrests back in 2019. Records show James died one day before the arrests were made.
"The more we dive into it, the more sick and sadistic this case is,” Mannford Police Chief Lucky Miller said at the time.
Then Chief Miller emphasized the workload he, and then Investigator Mike Nealey, had ahead of them. Miller said police had data from three cell phones on a hard drive, with one of the phones containing 14,000 images officers planned to sift through.
"We spent about six hours on it yesterday. It's gonna take - it's gonna take a while,” Miller said then.
But two months later at a police conference in Florida, Miller was murdered, by the only other investigator working this case: Nealey, who was sentenced to life in prison in Florida.
"Ya that happened shortly after the arrest…So it's like, what's gonna’ happen here? And later we find out the case had been dismissed and as far as I know, nothing's happened,” Dennis said.
Court records show in March of 2021, the state dismissed Smith's case because of the McGirt ruling. The Creek County District Attorney's Office said it emailed the case information to both the Muscogee Nation, and the U.S. Attorney's office.
Because Miller and Nealey were the ones working the case, the DA's office said it told the U.S. Attorney's Office further investigation would be needed to move forward with prosecution.
After multiple calls and emails during the past month, the U.S. Attorney's Office would not say if it did anything with the case.
It also took a month, and many conversations before the Muscogee Nation's press secretary said Lighthorse Police is investigating.
But still, questions from News On 6 remain unanswered:
When and how did the Muscogee Nation receive the case?
Have any charges been filed? If so, what are they? Are there any upcoming court dates?
Is there anything more you can say about why this case is still in the investigation phase, since it has been three years since the state dismissed Smith’s case?
Does Lighthorse Police have the evidence in its possession?
Dennis said he realizes the Supreme Court ruling has a massive increase and backload of case work. But he fears his dad's case is lost at the intersection of two issues: the court system, and a murdered police chief.
"I certainly think that that's a large part of it. There's no one to follow up and to push forward,” he said.
Aside from Smith's five felony charges being dismissed by the state, News On 6 is learning what happened with the other three suspects.
John Rose served two years’ probation after pleading guilty in 2020 to failing to report abuse and neglect.
A third suspect’s case was dismissed by the state in 2020, but News On 6 was not told why.
A fourth suspect's charge was expunged.
“I don't know that any priority will be placed on a case like my dad's. I mean, you hear about the murder cases, the big drug cases, all those things, those are what, in my opinion get the attention, and stuff like my dad's kinda gets lost in the shuffle,” Dennis said.
With a focus on the better days of James' life, Dennis and his wife, Joy Sadler, are determined to find a resolution.
"Something needs to be done about it,” Sadler said. “We need some finality in this. And he needs closure. And I'm sure the other families do too. It's not just about us. It's about everybody involved in this."
Two civil cases were settled in 2021, and the nursing home said it paid damages to two of the victims' families.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office offered to sit down with Dennis and Joy, to explain what is going on with the case to them. News On 6 connected the family to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Court records show Smith filed in June to expunge his record with the state for both this case, and another case from 2017. He has a court date set for August. News On 6 called his attorney, and he said he had no comment for this story.
Editor’s Note: Both Miller and Nealey were working on behalf of the District 24 Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force while working on this case in 2019.
To read the Cimmaron Pointe Care Center’s statement from 2019, CLICK HERE.
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