True Crime Chronicles: Thirty-six years after murder, death by natural causes and plea deal thwarted justice in Tulsa

The neon glow of the Sandman Motel flickered along a gritty stretch of road, a haven for transient souls and shadowy dealings. On September 18, 1983 Anthony Baltes, a 39-year-old man, checked in, unaware it would be his last night alive.

Hours later, he was found dead in his room--bound, beaten, and strangled. His wallet was gone, his car abandoned nearby. The scene screamed robbery gone wrong, but the trail to his killers went cold for decades.

Fast-forward to 2019. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter stood before a press conference, his voice steady but resolute. Two names echoed through the room:

, in Wyoming.

Charged with first-degree murder, they were the long-sought suspects in Baltes’ brutal slaying. A plastic cup, preserved from the crime scene, had yielded DNA that cracked the case wide open, thanks to advances in forensic technology.

Tulsa’s Cold Case Unit, led by the tenacious Detective Eddie Majors, had never given up.

The multicounty grand jury’s indictments painted a vivid picture. Witnesses from 1983 recalled Baltes leaving PC’s Club Tahiti, a local dive, with a woman in her 20s--likely Lee, then 22. The night before, she’d been spotted with 'a man in his 30s', possibly Moore, who was 25 at the time.

Sandman Hote, Tulsa

The pair, it seemed, had crossed paths with Baltes in a fatal encounter at the Sandman, a motel notorious for prostitution and vice.

Moore, arrested in Fremont County, Wyoming, denied ever setting foot in Tulsa. Extradited to Oklahoma, he faced a judge in February 2020, where probable cause was found to move toward trial. Lee, apprehended in Texas, was also brought back to face justice.

But the wheels of justice ground slowly. The COVID-19 pandemic stalled proceedings, and further investigation dragged on. Then, a devastating blow: on December 13, 2020, Moore, 62, died in Tulsa County jail after a medical emergency.

His death extinguished the case against him, leaving no conviction. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler lamented the loss, calling the evidence against Moore “strong” but acknowledging the challenges of prosecuting a 36-year-old crime.

Lee’s fate took a different turn. In a deal shrouded in mystery, prosecutors dropped her charges in exchange for her cooperation. What she revealed remains undisclosed, but it spared her a trial—and a potential conviction—for Baltes’ murder.

For Becky Baltes Bates, Anthony’s daughter, the developments were a gut punch. She’d clung to hope for closure, yearning to face Moore in court. “I wanted to look him in the eye,” she said, her voice heavy with grief. Moore’s death and Lee’s deal left her with fragments of justice, but no full reckoning.

The case, now closed, lingers as a testament to persistence and the limits of resolution. The Tulsa Police Department’s meticulous preservation of evidence and the grand jury’s role in securing indictments showcased law enforcement’s resolve.

Yet, with Moore gone and Lee free, the murder of Anthony Baltes remains a story without an ending—just a faded motel sign and a daughter’s unanswered questions.