True Crime Chronicles: A troubled man with several priors took the life of Lesa Childress on April 10, 2024 in Tuskahoma
- Dennis McCaslin
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
On the evening of April 10, 2024 in the small community of Tuskahoma within Latimer County, a sequence of emergency calls set law enforcement on a path that ended with the discovery of a fatal shooting followed by an attempt to destroy evidence through fire.
Willard Leroy Robbins Jr known locally as Bub age 41 from Wilburton would later admit to the acts that took the life of his older sister Lesa Gail Robbins Childress.
Lesa Childress, born May 18, 1980, in McAlester, to parents Sandra and Willard Robbins, grew up in the region and maintained close family ties in the Latimer County area. She left this world to reunite with her beloved father and grandparents on the day of the incident.
Those who knew her remembered her as a beloved daughter, mother, sister and friend whose life in the rural communities around Tuskahoma and Wilburton reflected the everyday realities of the River Valley region where family connections run deep amid the challenges of small town existence.
Dispatchers in Latimer County first received a report of a man walking along Highway 2 carrying a long-barreled firearm. A Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police officer responded and located Robbins, who appeared intoxicated. As the officer took him into custody for public intoxication, a second call came in about a nearby residence fire in Tuskahoma.
Responding officers from the Lighthorse Police and Latimer County Sheriff's Office arrived at the burning home. Once firefighters extinguished the flames, they found Lesa Childress inside. She had been shot in the back of the head with a shotgun.
Crime scene processing revealed two Remington-branded 12-gauge shotgun shells that matched ammunition found in Robbins's possession. A boot print at the scene aligned with the boots Robbins wore during his arrest. Witnesses had seen him with a 12 gauge shotgun earlier that evening.
The location fell within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, placing the case under federal jurisdiction in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Latimer County Sheriff's Office, and the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police built the case through physical evidence and witness accounts.
Robbins had a documented history of legal issues in the area. In 2018 as a 33 year old from Tuskahoma, he faced charges including possession of a stolen vehicle, attempting to elude police, possession of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia after a high-speed motorcycle chase. Court records from that earlier incident highlight patterns of substance involvement and encounters with local law enforcement.
Family accounts noted prior tensions. Robbins reportedly lacked custody of his daughter at one point, and Lesa Childress had called authorities when he attempted to force entry into her home to see the child. During that incident, he allegedly threatened to return and shoot her.
On May 27 2025 Robbins pleaded guilty in federal district court to one count of second degree murder in Indian Country. He admitted to shooting his sister with the shotgun and setting the residence on fire to conceal the crime. The charge carried a potential sentence of up to life in prison.
Senior Judge Ronald A White presided over the sentencing hearing on March 24 2026. He imposed 274 months, more than 22 years in federal prison a non-paroleable term. Robbins remained in U S Marshals custody pending transfer to a Bureau of Prisons facility. Assistant U S Attorney Edith A Singer represented the government in the sentencing phase.
A killing within a family draws particular attention and strain on local resources. The Choctaw Nation's involvement through Lighthorse Police underscores the layered law enforcement realities in the region where tribal, county and federal authorities intersect.
Public responses in local forums expressed sorrow for Lesa Childress and her family, highlighting her role as a supportive figure. The case served as another reminder of how substance use, unresolved family disputes, and access to firearms can escalate in isolated communities.
This resolution closes one chapter in Latimer County's criminal history though the broader patterns of violence, addiction, and jurisdictional complexities continue to shape life in the Arklahoma borderlands
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. Families affected by such losses often carry the weight long after court proceedings conclude.
