True Crime Chronicles: Latimer County man who killed sister over domestic dispute landed in federal pen for 22-years

In the small community of Tuskahoma in Latimer County, a quiet evening on April 10, 2024, ended in tragedy when emergency crews responded to a house fire. Once firefighters extinguished the flames, investigators discovered the body of Lesa Childress inside the residence.

She had been shot in the back of the head with a 12-gauge shotgun. The crime occurred within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, which placed the case under federal jurisdiction.

Authorities soon focused on her younger brother, Willard Leroy Robbins Jr., known locally as Bub. Robbins, then 41 and living in nearby Wilburton, faced charges for the killing. Witnesses reported seeing a man carrying a long gun along Highway 2 around the time of the incident.

Physical evidence strengthened the case against him. Investigators recovered two Remington 12-gauge shotgun shells at the scene and found a matching box of ammunition in his possession. Footwear impressions at the residence matched his, and statements placed him near the location with a shotgun shortly before the fire began.Robbins had shot his older sister inside the home and then set the residence on fire in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.

The FBI, the Latimer County Sheriff's Office, and the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police worked together on the investigation.

One local news report highlighted prior family tensions involving Robbins’ young daughter. Lesa Childress had been helping care for the girl at times. According to the report, there was at least one earlier incident in which Willard “Bub” Robbins tried to force his way into his sister’s home to see the child.

When Lesa refused him entry, she called 911 for assistance. During that confrontation, Robbins reportedly became angry and threatened to return and shoot Lesa.

This prior family dispute, centered around access to his daughter, appears to have been the only publicly mentioned source of conflict between the siblings before the fatal shooting on April 10, 2024.

On May 27, 2025, Robbins entered a guilty plea in federal court in Muskogee to one count of second degree murder in Indian Country. As part of the plea, he admitted to shooting Lesa Childress with a 12-gauge shotgun and setting the home on fire to conceal the crime.

The charge carried a potential sentence of up to life in prison.

In March 2026, Senior U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White sentenced Robbins to 274 months, more than 22 years, in federal prison. The term carries no possibility of parole. At the time of sentencing, he remained in U.S. Marshals custody pending transfer to a Bureau of Prisons facility.

The resolution brought a measure of accountability for the death of Lesa Childress. Services for her were held on April 20, 2024, at the Yanush Assembly of God in Yanush, Oklahoma.

In rural southeastern Oklahoma, where communities are tight-knit and crimes on reservation land often require coordination among multiple agencies, this case highlighted the joint efforts of local, tribal, and federal authorities.

Robbins' guilty plea and the resulting sentence closed the matter without a trial, though the loss left a lasting impact on the families and the small towns of Latimer County.