Oklahoma
Oklahoma to execute Richard Rojem Jr. for murder of ex-stepdaughter. What to know.
Rojem was convicted in 1985 of kidnapping, raping and murdering his former stepdaughter, 7-year-old Layla Cummings. His execution Thursday follows that of Ramiro Gonzales in Texas on Wednesday
Richard Rojem Jr. is set to be executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on Thursday for the rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter. If it goes forward, the execution will be the nation’s second in as many days.
Rojem, 66, was convicted in 1985 of raping and stabbing 7-year-old Layla Dawn Cummings to death. Her brutalized body was left in a field and found by a farmer; she was still wearing her mom’s nightgown.
“Everything she might have been was stolen from her one horrific night,” Layla’s mother, Mindy Cummings, told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board this month. “She never got to be more than the precious 7-year-old that she was. And so she remains in our hearts − forever 7.”
Rojem has always maintained his innocence, telling the board on June 17: “I did not kidnap Layla. I did not rape Layla. And I did not murder Layla.”
The board rejected his clemency request. His execution will be the state’s second of the year and the nation’s ninth.
Here’s what we know ahead of the execution.
What is Richard Rojem convicted of?
Layla was abducted from an apartment in Elk City, Oklahoma, where she lived with her mother and 9-year-old brother, on July 6, 1984, Oklahoma state court documents say. The children’s mother and Rojem’s ex-wife, Mindy Cummings, had left them alone to work a late shift at a local fast-food restaurant.
The child’s body was found the next morning in a field 15 miles from her home by a farm in Burns Flat. the appellate court records say.
Rojem and Mindy Cummings had only been divorced for two months before Layla’s murder. The two met while Rojem was serving time in a Michigan prison for the rape of two teenage girls; Cummings was the sister of Rojem’s cellmate, according to court records.
The then-26-year-old Rojem knew Cummings’ work schedule and that the lock to her apartment door was broken, according to the court filings.
Rojem was found guilty on May 31, 1985 and sentenced to death.
Has Richard Rojem appealed?
Rojem appealed his death sentence multiple times until he exhausted his attempts in 2017, Oklahoma court records show. He did win two appeals as his initial and second death sentences were thrown out in 2001 and 2006 due to problems with the jury in both instances.
A jury sentenced him to death again in 2007, and he did not win anymore appeals afterward.
Rojem’s final attempt to remain on death row for the rest of his life was on June 17 during a clemency hearing. During the hearing, Rojem maintained that he did not murder Layla and he apologized for his past, which included the rape of two teenage girls.
“I wasn’t a good human being for the first part of my life, and I don’t deny that,” a handcuffed Rojem said during the hearing. “But I went to prison. I learned my lesson and I left all that behind.”
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied Rojem clemency.
When will Richard Rojem be executed?
Rojem is scheduled to be executed at 10 a.m. CT at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, 90 miles south of Tulsa.
Oklahoma executions are scheduled 90 days apart due to the “emotional and mental trauma on correctional staff,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a May news release. The execution interval was previously 60 days, he added.
How will Richard Rojem be executed?
Rojem will be executed with a three-drug lethal injection containing midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride, according to Oklahoma execution protocols.
Midazolam is a sedative that is normally administered to help patients feel relaxed before surgery, vecuronium bromide is peripherally used as part of general anesthesia and potassium chloride is a medication for low blood potassium. The combination of the drugs the prison is using is fatal.
Who will witness the execution?
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office told USA TODAY that the “witness list is confidential for security reasons.”
While unclear who will be in the execution room, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester does provide a place to view for people 18 or older who are immediate family of any deceased victim of the defendant, according to state statutes.
Rojem’s attorney, Jack Fisher, told USA TODAY that he would be attending his client’s execution on Thursday.
Among the select members of the news media who will witness the execution is reporter Nolan Clay of The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network.
What will be Richard Rojem’s final meal?
According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Rojem’s final meal will consist of:
- A small Little Caeser’s pizza – double cheese/double pepperoni
- Eight salt packets
- Eight crushed red pepper packets.
- Vernors Ginger Ale, bottled.
- Four ounces of vanilla ice cream cups
Oklahoma
NCAA Not Done with Kashie Natt, Oklahoma State After Legal Ruling
The NCAA is not done with Oklahoma State Guard Kashie Natt and his eligibility case, based on the organization’s statement on Tuesday.
On Monday, Natt received an ex parte ruling that kept the NCAA from enforcing its decision to cancel Natt’s waiver request to play in 2026-27. That ruling, from District Judge John Canavan, allows Natt to practice with the team, participate in all team activities and participate in any athletics-related benefits.
It also bars the NCAA from punishing Natt or Oklahoma State while the case is working its way through the court.
By its nature, an ex parte ruling is made after only hearing one side of the case. The NCAA posted a statement disagreeing with the ruling, including an explanation for why they canceled the waiver and will continue to pursue the case in court.
The NCAA’s Statement on Kashie Natt
The NCAA posted the statement to social media and was signed by the organization’s chief legal officer, Scott Bearby.
“The order in the Natt case, issued without the NCAA having any opportunity to respond and by a judge not even assigned to hear the case, is demonstrably flawed and the latest instance of an environment where litigation has become a tool to avoid playing by the rules that everyone has agreed to follow. The student-athlete at issue already benefited from the ‘Pavia waiver,’ which provided him the opportunity to play for a fifth season, and nobody, including the institution where he seeks to compete next year, has ever expressed any doubt that his collegiate career ended when the Pavia waiver expired. We will pursue all remedies to seek reversal of this decision, which contributes to the instability in college sports that only Congress can solve.”
The Pavia case, which was a suit called Pavia v. NCAA, was brought on behalf of Vanderbilt quarterback Deigo Pavia, who started his career in junior college. He received a preliminary injunction in 2025 after he challenged the NCAA’s system for junior college and NCAA eligibility, saying that his juco years counting toward his NCAA eligibility irreparably harmed his ability to leverage NIL.
The NCAA ultimately conceded and granted a blanket waiver that extended an extra year of eligibility to similar athletes. The NCAA believes that bucket includes Natt. He started his career five schools year ago at Southern University-Shreveport, a junior college. He followed that with three years at NAIA LSU-Alexandria and then one more year at Sam Houston.
Natt’s attorney, Darren Heitner, contends that Natt’s NCAA clock should have started when he began his career at LSU-Alexandria and therefore has one more year to play.
The case is still pending. A new court date has not been set yet.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma City police release drone footage of deadly officer-involved shooting
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Authorities are releasing more information about a deadly officer-involved shooting that claimed the life of an Oklahoma City woman.
In the afternoon of May 20, officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department responded to a call about an assault with a deadly weapon at an apartment near S.W. 59th and Douglas Ave.
When officers arrived, they spoke with a man who said that a woman inside one of the apartments had fired shots at him through the front door.
Investigators tried to contact the woman, who was identified as Brenda Deer, but they were unsuccessful.
Capt. Valerie Littlejohn, with the Oklahoma City Police Department, said officers decided to not escalate the situation. Instead, they planned to pursue charges.
Later that evening, residents called police about shots being fired from the same apartment.
When officers arrived, they tried to speak with Deer but she refused to come out of the apartment.
Authorities evacuated nearby apartments and attempted to negotiate with Deer for several hours.
After Deer continued to fire the weapon, Oklahoma City police used tear gas in an attempt to flush her out of the apartment.
However, she continued to fire toward officers and was shot.
Deer was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officer who fired the fatal shot has been placed on administrative leave.
Earlier this week, Oklahoma City police released drone footage of the shooting.
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Oklahoma
As World Cup inspires young players, Oklahoma City bets big on soccer’s future
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — As millions of fans tune in to the FIFA World Cup, Oklahoma City leaders and youth soccer supporters hope the excitement has a lasting impact much closer to home.
A major expansion of a north Oklahoma City soccer complex is designed to meet growing demand for the sport while positioning the city to host regional and national tournaments that supporters say could bring millions of dollars in economic activity and new opportunities for young athletes.
The project is the result of a public-private partnership between the City of Oklahoma City and North Oklahoma City Soccer Club (NOKC Soccer). The city funded the first two phases through the 2017 General Obligation Bond and MAPS 4, while the club is paying for the final phase of the expansion.
City of OKC and NOKC Soccer Club join efforts to expand Cameron Park soccer facility. (KOKH)
Supporters say the project comes at a time when soccer continues to gain popularity, especially during World Cup years.
“Our numbers go up. People want to play soccer. It just inspires everyone to be a part of this amazing game,” said Gabi Noble, president of NOKC Soccer Club.
Once complete, the expanded complex will feature 20 fields. This is an important benchmark for attracting many of the nation’s largest youth soccer tournaments.
“A lot of the major events have field minimum standards, and so we needed to have 20 fields to meet those standards so we could host the events,” Noble said.
According to Noble, hosting those tournaments could have an impact well beyond the soccer community.
She said similar four-day tournaments in other cities have generated between $7 million and $8 million in local economic activity through hotels, restaurants and other spending.
For Oklahoma families, supporters say the biggest benefit could be keeping elite competition closer to home.
Instead of traveling to places like the Dallas area or Overland Park, Kansas, parents could see college coaches and top competition come to Oklahoma City.
“It saves them money because they don’t have to travel all around the nation to get exposure to college coaches,” Noble said. “We wanted to give them a place to stop right here in the middle of our country and show them Oklahoma City and what all it has to offer.”
Stephen Phillips, executive advisor for Oklahoma Energy Football Club and technical director for NOKC Soccer Club, said the city is already seeing the need for additional fields.
“We don’t actually have enough fields to field any extra teams,” Phillips said. “We’re maxed out at this moment in time because of the field situation.”
He said Oklahoma City’s central location could eventually make the city a regional soccer hub, similar to how Oklahoma City has become synonymous with the Women’s College World Series.
“I would think it would kind of mirror that,” Phillips said. “People fly in or drive in here to play games. Instead of us having to go east coast or west coast, a central location is what people want to see.”
Supporters also hope the investment changes how the rest of the country views soccer in Oklahoma.
Construction continues at Cameron Park. (Courtesy: NOKC Soccer Club)
“I hope that they see Oklahoma as a serious contender in the national market,” Phillips said, noting several Oklahoma teams are already competing at high-level national tournaments.
Ultimately, both Phillips and Noble say the project’s greatest success won’t be measured by tournaments or tourism, but by the young athletes who grow up playing on the new fields.
When asked whether a future World Cup player could come from Oklahoma, Noble didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely. They can and they will.”
Phillips shares that vision.
“I think a lot of our best athletes will play soccer coming out with this project. That’s what my hope and dream is anyway.”
The Director of OKC Parks, Melinda McMillan-Miller, told Fox 25 in a statement:
“Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation is excited for the amazing enhancements and expansion to Cameron Park. The park will provide an elevated soccer experience for our community and will inspire future soccer players to pursue excellence both on and off the field.”
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