Cold Case Files: Victim was stabbed 28 times and body was burned in 2021 Delaware County unsolved murder

Brett Adam Scheele

On the night of December 9, 2021, the partially burned body of 37-year-old Brett Adam Scheele was discovered along South 609 Road in a wooded section of the Lake Eucha area in Delaware County. The remains were found at approximately 11:09 p.m. inside a brush pile that had been set on fire.

Scheele, whose hometown was listed as Jay, was identified through fingerprint comparison. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office quickly requested assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the death was classified as a homicide.

An autopsy performed on December 12, 2021, at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Tulsa established the cause of death as multiple sharp force injuries. The examination documented approximately 28 stab and incised wounds concentrated on the face, scalp, neck, and abdomen.

Several of the wounds penetrated vital structures, including the left parietal lobe of the brain, the left jugular vein, and the liver. A metallic fragment consistent with the tip of a knife was recovered from one of the scalp wounds that had entered the skull. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.

In addition to the sharp force trauma, the body showed extensive perimortem thermal burn injuries. Large portions of the torso, arms, and legs were charred. The right leg had separated at the mid-femur and was heavily burned. The left leg was incinerated from the mid-femur downward.

No soot was found in the airway, and carbon monoxide testing returned negative, indicating that Scheele may already have been dead when the fire was set, though the exact timing of the burns relative to death could not be determined with certainty.

Toxicology results showed the presence of methamphetamine at a concentration of 2.0 micrograms per milliliter and amphetamine at 0.17 micrograms per milliliter in heart blood. No alcohol was detected.

Scheele was born on October 13, 1984. Records listed an address in Hope, Kansas, though investigators noted his ties to the Jay area.

He had design tattoos on both arms. At the time of the autopsy the body weighed 110 pounds and measured 55 inches in length, figures consistent with the severe effects of fire.

More than four and a half years later, the case remains unsolved.

In late July 2026 the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation publicly spotlighted the investigation again, noting that Scheele’s burned body had been found along South 609 Road and that no arrests had been made. Investigators continue to seek information from anyone who may know about Scheele’s activities or contacts in the days leading up to his death.

Tips can be submitted to the OSBI at tips@osbi.ok.gov or by calling 1-800-522-8017.

The brutality of the attack, the deliberate attempt to destroy evidence by fire, and the rural location have left few immediate leads.

What is known with certainty is that on a December night in 2021, someone inflicted more than two dozen sharp force wounds on Brett Adam Scheele and then set fire to the brush pile where his body was left.