True Crime Chronicles: The brutal murder of an 83-year-old Craig County woman in August 2015 led to life sentence

Velma Luretta Hobbs Bristow-Bennett was 83 years old when she was beaten to death with a metal pipe outside her home on August 12, 2015. A longtime resident of Bluejacket and formerly of Vinita, she had spent a lifetime helping others and caring for animals, only to be betrayed by two young people she had welcomed into her home.

Born December 22, 1931, in Topsy, Oklahoma, to Jasper Newton and Bessie Louretta Smith Hobbs, Velma’s early years took her family to Arizona before returning to Oklahoma. She married Herman Radford Bristow in July 1945. As a military family, they lived in multiple states including Utah, Massachusetts, California, and New Mexico, as well as Chelsea, Big Cabin, and eventually Vinita. Herman died in 1959 after 14 years of marriage. Velma later settled in Bluejacket for the last 20 years of her life.

She retired after many years working at the Cinch Factory in Vinita. Those who knew her described a woman full of energy and independence. She loved mowing her property, cutting down trees, taking walks in the woods, working with wood, and building things. Above all, Velma was known for her compassion-- taking care of animals and helping people in need whenever she could.

On the night of August 12, 2015, that generous spirit led to tragedy. Chelsea Marie Raulston, then 20 years old, and her boyfriend Charlee Ray Adams had been staying with Bennett for more than two weeks. Velma fed them, provided them shelter, and was actively trying to help them find a new place to live -- even on the night she was killed.

According to statements later made by Raulston in a court-ordered pre-sentence investigation, the couple had plotted to murder the elderly woman for her money. Their initial plan was to drown her, but it changed to using a metal pipe that Raulston said she “was able to swing.” Bennett was brutally beaten outside her home in the 16000 block of South 4425 Road in Bluejacket. She was airlifted to a hospital but did not survive.

 Chelsea Marie Raulston

Raulston, born June 28, 1995, entered a blind guilty plea in December 2016 in Craig County District Court) to first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. On February 3, 2017, she was sentenced to life in prison for the murder, plus 30 years for robbery, with the sentences ordered to run consecutively along with a prior five-year sentence for unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Prosecutors noted she would not be eligible for parole until she was in her late 80s-- the age Velma Bennett was when she was killed.

Craig County Assistant District Attorney Tony Evans, who had prosecuted cases for 12 years, said he had never seen a pre-sentence investigation investigator recommend the maximum sentence so strongly. In court, Evans stated, “Raulston showed no mercy that night she deserves no mercy today.”

Raulston’s co-defendant and then-boyfriend, was convicted by a Craig County jury in May 2017 of accessory to first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. The jury recommended a sentence of 35 years in prison.

On June 30, 2017, Adams was formally sentenced to 35 years behind bars for his role in the brutal beating death of Velma Bennett. Unlike Raulston, who received life in prison, Adams was convicted as an accessory rather than as the principal perpetrator. He remains incarcerated in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections system serving his sentence.

A dozen of Velma’s friends and family members filled the courtroom during sentencing. Her daughters described their mother as a kind-hearted, energetic woman — a “spitfire” who loved animals and tried to help everyone around her.

Velma was preceded in death by her parents, husband Herman, an infant son Jimmy Bristow, six brothers, two sisters, and a grandson. Graveside services were held on August 18, 2015, at Big Cabin Cemetery with Brother Justin Turner officiating.

The case shocked the small communities of Craig County. What began as an act of kindness by a woman who had spent decades caring for others ended in a calculated, brutal robbery-murder. Raulston’s own words in the pre-sentence report — admitting she enjoyed bullying people — only deepened the horror felt by Bennett’s family and the community.

Velma Luretta Hobbs Bristow-Bennett is remembered not just as a victim, but as the resilient, hardworking, and compassionate woman who raised a family, served her community, and lived life on her own terms. Her death left a void in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and all those whose lives she touched with her generosity.