Oklahoma
Survivors of deadly Oklahoma home invasion to attend execution: ‘You shattered lives’
Dreu Kopf was at home with her young daughters and dear friend Amber Matthews when Wendell Grissom barged in and began shooting. Now Kopf and the girls, who are now grown, will watch him die.
Amber Matthews and Dreu Kopf only knew each other for two years but they had already become inseparable friends. Their lives then became forever intertwined when one of them was killed in a home invasion murder that the other survived.
“I would give anything to be able to call her at work again,” Kopf said in a victim impact statement obtained by USA TODAY. “I had a special ringtone for her and I miss hearing it.”
On Nov. 3, 2005, Wendell Arden Grissom murdered Matthews and seriously wounded Kopf inside her home in Watonga, Oklahoma. He didn’t know either women and chose the home seemingly at random.
Now Grissom is set to be executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on Thursday, marking the first execution in the state in 2025 and the ninth in the U.S.
As his execution approaches, USA TODAY is looking back at the crime, who Matthews was and how Kopf is feeling about the case 20 years later.
What happened to Amber Matthews?
On Nov. 3, 2005, Grissom and a homeless hitchhiker he had picked up named Jessie Johns were planning to burglarize homes when they targeted Kopf’s house near Watonga, 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
Kopf was home with her two daughters and Matthews when Grissom came knocking. Initially, he asked Kopf if her husband was home but eventually shot his way in, laughing as he fired, according to court records.
Kopf, who had been shot in the wrist, jumped on Grissom while Matthews ran with Kopf’s 5-week-old daughter into a room where Kopf’s 19-month-old daughter was sleeping.
“Dreu begged Grissom to stop,” court records say. She offered him “anything he wanted” to spare their lives but Kopf said in court records that “he was just laughing and he just kept shooting and shooting and laughing.”
Grissom shot Kopf in the head and hip. Hearing the shooting from inside the bedroom with the girls, Matthews was “overcome with terror” and “vomited all over her jeans and on the floor,” court records say.
Kopf managed to steal Grissom’s truck and escape, hoping he would follow her. On the way out, she heard Matthews scream, “Please don’t shoot me,” before Grissom shot her in the back of the head and then the forehead as she held one of the girls. Matthews died.
Kopf managed to flag down help and survived after being treated at a hospital. Police said Grissom and Johns fled Kopf’s home using her husband’s four-wheeler. Court records say Grissom and Johns were arrested in a nearby café after local citizens reported seeing the men to police.
‘I was crazy, I was scared’
Speaking to USA TODAY ahead of Grissom’s execution, Kopf recounted a long road to recovery that changed the trajectory of her and her family’s lives.
“I was scared all of the time. My husband wouldn’t leave my side,” Kopf said. “I lived in fear 24/7.”
Rylee Kopf, who was just 17 months old when Grissom invaded her home, recalled the struggles her mother endured in the years following the shooting.
“My mom would probably, with no exaggeration, call my dad 100 times a day, asking when he’s going to be home and if he couldn’t give her an answer she would call back,” she said. “She didn’t want to be home alone.”
Other members of Kopf’s family describe her as someone who was “paralyzed by fear” as she recovered from the shooting.
Despite the lasting nightmares and injuries, Kopf said that she has found a way to forgive Grissom. “I have to forgive this guy or Grissom is going to ride on my shoulder the rest of my life and control the rest of my life,” she said.
With Grissom’s execution this week, Kopf said it’s the end of a long process.
“Amber is always going to be 6 feet under and I will always be the girl that got shot. I’m probably going to always be nervous and scared,” Kopf said. “It’s taken 20 years of my life that I’ve had to deal with him. It’s a rollercoaster.”
She plans to witness Grissom’s execution along with her now-grown daughters, who are 19 and 20.
She hopes Grissom’s death will mark the moment that she “will never think of him again.”
‘My best friend’ and a ‘pretty angel’
Matthews’ father, Garry Matthews, described his daughter as the “apple of my eye, a cute blond blue-eyed little bundle of joy.”
“She was not only my daughter, she was my best friend. In and out of marriages, she was always there for me,” he said during Grissom’s 2008 trial. “The last restaurant we ate in, I can’t go back. Everything that reminds me of her brings back the pain.”
Although USA TODAY was not able to speak with members of Matthews’ family for this story, court records obtained show a family that has been devastated.
Matthews aunt, Rita Russell, told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board last month that her niece was a “pretty angel.”
“We never got to see her get married or have kids. She loved kids,” she said, then addressed Grissom. “You shattered our lives that day … There’s not a day that does by that I don’t miss her beautiful smile.”
The ripple effects continue to haunt the entire Matthews family, they told the parole board.
“My holidays are not the same. My son no longer has a big sister,” Garry Matthews said in court. “I’m depressed. I miss my daughter so much and I want her back and can’t have her. I can’t even have her for one more day to say goodbye.”
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and the USC Upstate Spartans meet in the first game of the Tuscaloosa Regional on Friday.
The Cowboys (37-20) and the Spartans (33-28) have never met on the diamond. Both enter the game on hot streaks. Oklahoma State didn’t win the Big 12 Tournament, but the Cowboys have won 11 of their last 14 games. The Spartans won the Big South Conference Tournament champions and have won 14 of their last 16 games.
The game is the first of two in Tuscaloosa. The second game features the host school, Alabama, facing Alabama State. The winners of the first two games will meet Saturday for a trip to the regional final on Sunday.
Oklahoma State fans can keep up with the game here, including lineups and inning by inning details on the game. Check out Oklahoma State On SI’s NCAA Tournament Central for everything related to the Tuscaloosa Regional.
Game Details
Oklahoma State vs. USC Upstate
Time: 1 p.m. central
TV: ESPN+ (Derek Jones & Jared Mitchell on the call). NOTE: TV is subject to change without notice. Game times and TV for games played after Friday will be announced.
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network & The Varsity Network App/93.7 KSPI-FM or okla.state/GetVarsity (Rex Holt on the call)
OSU Batting Order
The batting order for Friday’s game will be posted here when it is released by the team.
Tuscaloosa Regional
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala. Venue: Sewell-Thomas Stadium (5,867).
Friday’s Games
Game 1: USC Upstate vs. Oklahoma State, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Game 2: Alabama State vs. Alabama, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Saturday’s Games
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, TBA (elimination game)
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, TBA (advances to Sunday’s final)
Sunday’s Games
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (elimination game)
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Monday’s Game
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
(Times subject to change for TV purposes)
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Brent Swadley, owner of Swadley’s Bar-B-Q, found guilty in fraud trial
A jury convicted Brent Swadley of fraud for inflating invoices involving Oklahoma state park restaurants.
A jury convicted Brent Swadley, owner of a string of popular Oklahoma barbecue restaurants, at his fraud trial and chose prison time as his punishment.
The 12 jurors reached their unanimous verdict Thursday, May 28, in a felony case that focused on Swadley’s inflated bills for the renovation and operation of restaurants at six state parks.
Jurors found Swadley, 55, guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the state and all five counts of presenting fraudulent claims to the state.
They chose five years in prison and a $25,000 fine as his punishment for the conspiracy. They agreed on one year in prison and a $10,000 fine as punishment on each fraudulent claims count.
Oklahoma County District Judge Susan Stallings could order Swadley to serve the time back to back for a total of 10 years.
Jurors voted for the maximum fines but showed leniency on prison time. Jurors could have chosen prison sentences totaling 20 years.
Sheriff’s deputies led Swadley from the courtroom in handcuffs to be taken to jail. Formal sentencing was set for July 16.
His defense attorney, David Smith, said, “We are not done fighting.”
Still to be decided by the judge is restitution. Prosecutors said Swadley defrauded the state of at least $3.1 million.
The owner of Swadley’s Bar-B-Q did not testify at his trial but has been outspoken in the past that he is innocent.
“The state attorney general … is pushing a false, politically motivated narrative accusing us of purposely misleading the government. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he wrote in an open letter to Oklahomans in 2024 after he was indicted.
Jurors took only 90 minutes to reach their verdict. “It was pretty easy,” one juror told prosecutors afterward.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who is running for governor, told reporters outside the courtroom that the case was never political.
“Mr. Swadley broke the law. His arrogance has been illustrated for the last four years, and I’m very happy that justice has been done,” Drummond said.
Swadley trial ends in guilty verdict, AG Drummond ‘proud’ of prosecution
A jury unanimously found Brent Swadley guilty of defrauding the state, sentencing him to five years in prison and $25,000 fine.
“I think we in state government have a tendency to trust Oklahomans,” he added. “I think it’s a lesson for state actors. We need to not trust as we have before.”
In a news release, the attorney general said, “Today is a win for Oklahoma and for the rule of law.”
Swadley signed a contract with the state in March 2020 to remodel and operate state park restaurants. The agreement was finalized weeks before COVID-19 shutdowns began across the world.
Swadley went ahead with the remodeling, completing work at four of the parks in months. His restaurants became a huge hit as Oklahomans spent more time outdoors because of the pandemic.
Jurors heard testimony that many of the invoices sent to the state for reimbursement of construction and other costs were marked up. Some were inflated as much as 300%.Swadley operated the state park restaurants under the company name Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen. The last one opened in 2022.
The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department in April 2022 canceled its contract with Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen due to “suspected fraudulent activity and questionable business practices.”Much of the testimony centered around meat smokers sold to the state in 2021. The cancelation of the contracts came after tourism officials learned the smokers were used.
Swadley put the smokers in at Robbers Cave State Park and Quartz Mountain State Park. They had been in storage after he removed them from a Swadley’s Bar-B-Q in Ardmore.
He paid $23,680 each for the smokers in 2018, according to evidence in the case. He billed the state $51,346 each for the smokers in 2021.
A restaurant supplier testified at trial that he faked paperwork that Swadley used to support the bill to the state. “He told me to make them as expensive as I could,” Mike McWhorter told jurors.
Swadley’s defense attorneys maintained at trial that it was an understood standard business practice to inflate invoices.
“Their case is − and this is no joke − Brent Swadley was supposed to do all of this construction work and not make a dime,” Smith told jurors in his closing argument.
The attorney said Swadley became the fall guy for a mess created by Jerry Winchester, the executive director of the Tourism Department at the time, and Gino DeMarco, the deputy director.
Smith argued that Winchester knew the smokers were used and lied at trial. Winchester told jurors he thought the state was buying brand new smokers.
The defense attorney also told jurors, “What we’ve got here is a paperwork dispute, not fraud.”
Prosecutors told jurors Brent Swadley was greedy and had said the state contract might save his business during the pandemic.
“Brent Swadley believes the rules do not apply to him,” Assistant Attorney General McKenzie McMahan said in his closing argument.
The key witnesses against Swadley were former employees.
His former vice president, Curtis Breuklander, and former chief operating officer, Tim Hooper, testified invoices were marked up at Swadley’s direction.
Breuklander, 51, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count and four of the fraudulent claim counts. “I did all of this at the direction of Brent Swadley,” he said in his plea paperwork.
Under a deal with prosecutors, Breuklander was sentenced to probation for 10 years. He stopped working for Swadley in September 2021.
Hooper, 57, also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count. He pleaded guilty to one fraudulent claim count and no contest to another fraudulent claim count.
Under his deal, Hooper was put on probation for five years. He was fired by Swadley in 2023.
Under the state contract, Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen was reimbursed for the costs of improvements to the restaurants, up to a limit. The state also covered the company’s operating losses, at first up to $1 million a year and later up to $2,116,900 a year.
The state further paid the company management fees, at first $571,808 per year and later $1,332,000 per year.
Swadley is expected to appeal. His defense attorneys are expected to complain about the judge’s refusal to let two expert witnesses testify at trial.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
The roof of a home in Oklahoma City collapsed following a fire early Thursday morning, according to firefighters.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department says firefighters were called around 2 a.m. to the scene of a fire at a home near Southeast 29th Street and South Shields Boulevard.
After arriving at the scene, firefighters reported flames coming from the home and serious structural damage, including the roof, which had collapsed due to the fire.
Additionally, OKCFD reported this was not the first emergency services response to the home, with a call for medical services being placed to the same address only a few hours earlier.
“We know that earlier today, they’d made a medical call over here,” OKCFD Battalion Chief Greg Lindsay said. “Somebody was staying in that building, so we’re being extra careful to check and make sure that everybody got out.”
No injuries were reported. Fire investigators believe the cause was related to a cooking incident.
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