The beating death of a woman in 2003 is still a cold case for OSBI and Tahlequah investigators

By Dennis McCaslin - Editor

Tahlequah, Oklahoma authorities suspect someone she knew beat Deborah Denise Cordell to death in her Cort Mall apartment in the quaint Cherokee County town over 21-years-ago.

That’s where her badly bludgeoned body was found on July 21, 2003. The state medical examiner determined the 49-year-old woman’s death was caused by blunt force trauma.

Tahlequah Police investigators initially said Deborah’s death was an accident, but then-Detective Steve Farmer, the investigator assigned to the case, later said it was a homicide. The medical examiner said it was a homicide, and that the victim suffered “extensive and innumerable” bruises, cuts and scrapes over her entire body. Her head injuries caused brain swelling.

A Cherokee County grand jury impaneled Sept. 26, 2005 to investigate the murder of Deborah Denise Cordell, 49, concluded its probe without returning an indictment.

A report issued by the grand jurors criticized the way Tahlequah Police Department officers handled the Cordell investigation back in 2003, and homicides in general.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist with the search for Cordell’s killer. They determined she was attacked inside her apartment during the morning of July 20. They did not believe the killer or killers were motivated by robbery.

Other than that scant information, very little is known about the murder of Cordell.

Deborah attended local schools and was a 1971, graduate of Tahlequah High School. She later joined the U.S. Army and served nine years before her health required her to resign. Deborah was a disabled Veteran and had also worked as a travel agent before returning to Tahlequah.

If you have information about Cordell’s 2003 murder, call the OSBI at (800) 522-8017, or the District 27 District Attorney’s anonymous tipline at (918) 772-8465.