By Ray Dyer/Staff writer

Verna Riles doesn’t believe her baby sister tried to kill herself. And while the Custer County Sheriff’s Office ruled the injuries that eventually took the life of Priscilla Janel McBrayer were self-inflicted, too many questions remain unanswered.

For that reason, the Custer County district attorney has asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to examine the case.

A number of McBrayer’s relatives live in El Reno, including her stepfather, Frankie Adair.

The 30-year-old woman was found early on July 23, 2006, unresponsive in her 1991 four-door white Cadillac. Darci Fuller, a nurse on her way to work in Oklahoma City, came upon McBrayer on state Highway 66, just off Interstate 40 near Clinton.

Fuller noticed the car was on a very steep incline with the motor still running and the transmission in drive. Riles said the nurse called 911 and an ambulance from the Clinton Integris Hospital arrived. The ambulance driver broke out a rear window of the car and attempted to pull McBrayer out. It was then he and Fuller discovered McBrayer was tied to the auto. A bungee cord was wrapped around her neck and attached to the frame below the car seat.

After cutting the bungee cord, Fuller and the ambulance driver pulled McBrayer from the car and began administering CPR. They were able to detect a slight pulse.

Lawmen from the Custer County Sheriff’s Office were assisting Clinton police with a homicide investigation and did not arrive on the scene until after McBrayer was taken to the Clinton hospital. McBrayer was later transferred by ambulance to Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City.

Jessica Brown, OSBI public information director, said Custer County District Attorney Dennis Smith requested agents look into the case. Brown said any information found by the agents would be turned over to the DA’s office.

Smith said he asked the OSBI to look into the case to clear up “rumors” that had been circulating in the area, especially after the arrest of former sheriff Mike Burgess on sex-related charges. Burgess has been charged with sexually assaulting female prisoners held in the Custer County Jail.

Riles said she cared for her sister, who remained in a coma following the incident, until she died last September. She said she has been haunted by the circumstances surrounding the death of her sister.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Riles said. She said Custer County lawmen never explained why McBrayer had grass in her hair and, according to Mercy officials, appeared to have been struck in the face.

Smith said those are some of the issues he expects the OSBI to clear up. “It’s a very strange case,” he said.
Adair said the story provided by Custer County authorities “just doesn’t make any sense. If two and two don’t add up you don’t just jump to some conclusion.”

Adair, who lives at 619 W. Clark, said lawmen told the family a woman called the sheriff’s office shortly after 3 a.m. and in a whispering voice said, “Help me, I can’t breathe.” Adair said the story is hard to believe. “For one, the call didn’t come from 911,” he said. He questioned how his daughter would have known the non-emergency number at the sheriff’s office. Also, cell phone records show the call did not register any minutes, Riles said.

McBrayer apparently made three calls on her cell phone before being found in her car. Riles said her sister called their mother shortly after midnight, and later records show, a call was made to the father of her child. Adair said his step daughter had been quarreling with the man. The final call from McBrayer’s cell phone was the one made to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.

“There are just too many holes,” Riles said. “My sister’s death has devastated our family and especially her 10-year-old daughter.”
Riles said she hopes anyone with information about her sister’s case will contact the OSBI.