James Alan "Jimmy" Alexander: The 49-year-old had been in jail since May 3. He was charged May 2 with the first-degree murder of Tina Brashear, 38
SAPULPA - The state is investigating the death of a jailed Tulsa man who was charged this month with killing his girlfriend two years ago.
The Creek County Sheriff's Office asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to investigate a suspicious injury to James Alan "Jimmy" Alexander on May 14, OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown said.
Brown said Alexander was vomiting in his jail cell that day and was taken to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, where he died three days later, on May 17.
"We're waiting on the autopsy to find out what the cause is," Brown said.
Alexander, 49, had been in jail since May 3. He was charged May 2 with first-degree murder in the death of Tina Brashear, 38, whose brother had reported her missing from Kellyville on May 4, 2011.
A witness told authorities in April that Alexander's father, Jack Alexander, had told him that Jimmy Alexander beat Brashear with a metal rod until she died, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
The witness reported that Jimmy Alexander might also have shot her, saying the father had asked the witness to get rid of a handgun.
Jack Alexander, 84, reportedly did not turn in his son because he already had one son who had died and another who was in prison and didn't want to lose another son, records state.
Jack Alexander is charged with accessory to first-degree murder on an allegation that he helped his son conceal Brashear's body. He is set to be arraigned June 28.
The homicide is alleged to have happened when the couple were drinking and got into an argument about Brashear's previously having Alexander arrested for assaulting her.
According to the affidavit, Brashear's body is believed to have been buried in a hand-dug grave in a cemetery behind Jimmy Alexander's house, but authorities have not commented on whether the grave has been exhumed.
An informant told officials that the grave is marked with the headstone of Jimmy Alexander's deceased brother, Robert Alexander, who died on Christmas Day 2010, the affidavit says.
But the witness reported that Robert Alexander's cremated remains are in a box in his brother's house, the document continues.
Authorities confirmed from a death certificate that Robert Alexander was, indeed, cremated.
Susan Hylton 918-581-8381
susan.hylton@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Death of jailed murder suspect investigated
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