Teen taken into custody in mother's slaying
BY Staff Reports
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
1/24/13 at 9:52 AM
Correction: A Tulsa World story used an incorrect name for the Special Operations Team. This story has been corrected.
A 17-year-old accused in the beating death of his mother was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a residence in the 5600 block of South Boston Avenue.
Henry David “Hank” Laird surrendered peacefully to officers, Officer Jill Roberson said.
The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Hank Laird late Tuesday in connection with the death of Linda Laird.
Linda Laird, 56, was found at the base of a staircase in her home in the 7400 block of South Urbana Avenue on Tuesday morning.
Police received a tip about 2 p.m. Wednesday that Hank Laird was at a house in the 5600 block of South Boston Avenue, Roberson said. During a vehicle stop in the area, officers confirmed that he was in the house.
The Special Operations Team was called in as a precaution, but Laird surrendered to officers without incident, Roberson said.
Linda Laird’s parents told police that her son was at the house when they arrived and found Linda Laird’s body Tuesday morning, police have said.
A relative of Laird’s said her parents spoke with Linda Laird the night before her death and went to check on her after she didn’t answer the phone on Tuesday morning.
Hank Laird reportedly fled with another person before police arrived.
Detectives arrested Josiah Israel Sklar on a complaint of first-degree murder at 2 a.m. Wednesday after he was questioned in connection with Linda Laird’s death, according to Sklar’s arrest report.
Officers arrested Sklar after a witness told police that Sklar sent him text messages saying he’d witnessed the killing and asked for a ride, homicide detectives wrote.
Sklar told detectives that he saw Hank Laird hit his mother in the head with the butt of a shotgun approximately 20 times, the report states.
Associated Images:
Tulsa Police stand outside a home in the 5600 block of south Boston Ave. in Tulsa on Wednesday. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Henry David “Hank” Laird
Josiah Israel Sklar
Linda Laird was found dead Tuesday at her house at 7440 S. Urbana Ave. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
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