Tulsa man to face trial in strangulation of east side woman found in her SUV

Spence’s 10- and 14-year-old sons found her body March 20 in her Mercedes SUV at Stonecrest Apartments, 4020 S. 130th East Ave.

Police at the time said Spence had not called her employer or reported to work that Friday, but had called in sick earlier in the week. The children realized she was not home and began walking along 129th East Avenue to find her March 19 after their father dropped them off at her house.

A probable-cause affidavit states the children walked to Bramlett’s apartment at Observation Point Apartments, located nearby, that night to find out whether he had seen their mother.

Bramlett was arrested Aug. 12 on a March 27 warrant asking he be held as a material witness in the case, and police said they used forensic evidence — including a half-smoked cigarette found in Spence’s backyard — and phone records to connect him to the crime scene. Spence lived in a house in the 2300 block of South 126th East Avenue, court records show.

One of Spence’s sons told detectives his mother was in a relationship with Bramlett, and Spence’s sister reported Bramlett had been abusive toward Spence in 2013, according to the affidavit.

Homicide Sgt. Dave Walker said in August that Bramlett had left his job and apartment without warning, and that his car was found parked at a bus station.

Bramlett has convictions for assault and battery and domestic assault, and spent four years in Department of Corrections custody, records show.

Twelve witnesses testified for the state during Friday’s preliminary hearing, Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Elmore said. Spence’s oldest son told the court about finding his mother’s body in the back of her SUV, and Tulsa police detectives detailed how they used cellphone tower data to determine Bramlett’s involvement.

Bramlett was arrested in LaSalle, Illinois, after an interview with police, Walker said.

Bramlett’s attorney, Marny Hill, countered Friday that cellphone tower data does not give precise locations, meaning he may not have been in the area at the time Spence was killed. But Assistant District Attorney Ben Fu said Monday that the last tracked location of Spence’s phone was at the bus station where police found Bramlett’s vehicle, which had a different license plate than the one registered to him.

“He goes to meet her at 11 (p.m.), then something happened,” Fu said. “We don’t know when she died. … Her car is seen (on surveillance video) driving toward his home at 2 a.m. Her car never comes back, as far as we can tell.”

Surveillance video shows Bramlett walking toward Spence’s home to retrieve his vehicle, Fu said. An apartment security guard testified Friday that he did not see Spence’s SUV at the complex at 1 a.m. March 20, but that it appeared there by 4 a.m.

Judge David Youll ordered a recess until Monday so the court could review evidence on a DVD related to the case, and bound Bramlett over for trial during a brief Monday appearance.