| Synopsis: On January 4, 1954, DR. Norvell Coots returned from a long day of work to his family's residence at 2144 N St Louis Ave. When the man entered the door, he noticed something around the house seemed wrong. Doors that were normally closed were open, and he didn't see his wife or son. He went over to his sons room, and found his bed was disheveled, so he thought to himself that maybe his son and wife were hiding in the room somewhere to pop out and surprise him with a prank. He looked around expecting to find them, but the room was empty besides himself. He left the room and started walking down the hall, and glanced through the open bathroom door as he passed it. The man stopped in his tracks as he saw a grim scene. The bodies of his wife and son were piled on top of eachother in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor. Reports state that his wife, Gladys Tillman-Coots was shot twice in the head and neck, and his son, William Norvell Coots Jr., was shot once in the top of the head, apparently had an eye gouged out, and had missing teeth, indicating he may have been beaten as well. Police were called out to investigate the scene, and the husbands alibi was soon confirmed. Police also found that Gladys was missing money, leading them to think the motive was robbery. But they hit a dead end and never identified a suspect. A few years later, a few boys found a towel wrapped over a few items on the roof of nearby Booker T. Washington High School. The items were the murder weapon, which was a revolver missing 3 bullets, and a vial of poison. A hair belonging to Gladys was also found on the towel. But despite the new finds, police could still not go forward with an investigation. The husband was dissatisfied by the police progress and repeatedly gave 2 suspects, and hired a private detective, but no arrests were made. The husband Norvell said himself he believed robbery was not the motive like police believed, but it may have been someone with a personal or business grudge against him. Before her death, Gladys Coots was a notable fix in the African-American Tulsans community. She served as the president of the City Federation of Colored Women's Club at 2017 N Peoria and was active with local civic leaders, evidenced by a 2012 interview with Nancy Feldman that referenced Mrs. Coots. |