Dark History Today

The Murder of Clayton Dale Elkins

Lawton, Oklahoma
February 12, 1950

Two old friends from Seminole — Clayton Dale Elkins and James Albert Collier Jr. — reconnect over bootleg whiskey at the Big 6 bar on a Saturday afternoon. That night, with their wives in tow, the drinking continues through two half-pints of illegal liquor, a stop at Ruth's Drive-In, and a long evening that splits the couples into separate rooms. When Elkins tells Collier's wife something that suggests her husband has been unfaithful, the night unravels fast. Tears, accusations, and a demand to leave escalate into a confrontation that ends with Collier retrieving a shotgun. At 1:15 a.m. on February 12th, the gun discharges into Elkins' abdomen. He dies four hours later. Collier claims accidental discharge during a scuffle. The jury disagrees, convicting him of first-degree manslaughter and sentencing him to thirty years in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

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