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Smirking woman gets 5 life sentences
Denise Wolf abused stepdaughter, carted body across country
Zach White
An Oklahoma judge had stern words for a woman he sentenced to five consecutive life prison terms for abusing her stepdaughter then moving the child's remains to the Havre area and Oregon.
Denise Wolf smiled and laughed during her sentencing Thursday.
The Durant Democrat newspaper reports that District Judge Mark Campbell told Wolf her behavior was more evidence of her being evil.
"If you ever have a conscience, I hope you are haunted... for all that you did, but I don't think you will be because you are smiling and smirking, " Campbell said.
Wolf was convicted on five child abuse-related counts and an unlawful removal of a dead body count.
Prosecutors alleged she abused 12-year-old Cheyenne Wolf when the family lived near Bokchito, Okla., and agreed with her husband, Abel, not to disclose Cheyenne's 2008 death.
Instead of telling anyone, they packed Cheyenne's body in a storage container and moved to Oregon and then the Havre area.
Authorities arrested the couple in Havre in 2009. Cheyenne's remains were found in a Milton-Freewater, Ore., storage unit.
The district attorney attempted to get the five life sentences, with five additional years, to be served consecutively. Wolf's defense attorney was trying for concurrent punishment.
The Durant Daily Democrat reported that Judge Campbell took Wolf's flippant demeanor in the courtroom into account when sentencing.
"The Legislature does not allow me to give you the punishment you deserve, " Campbell said, in announcing that the sentences will be served consecutively. "You will draw your last breath behind the walls of a state prison. You are unfit for society. "
Denise Wolf's attorney couldn't be reached for comment.
The Daily Oklahoman newspaper reported that due to the decomposition of Cheyenne's body, the medical examiner could not determine the exact cause and manner of death, though investigators said they believed she died in April 2008.
The Wolfs were not charged with killing her.
A Texas judge awarded Abel Wolf custody of Cheyenne and two other daughters when he and their biological mother were going through divorce proceedings, Redman said in the Oklahoman. The two surviving daughters are in state custody.
(Material from The Associated Press was used in this story.)
An Oklahoma judge had stern words for a woman he sentenced to five consecutive life prison terms for abusing her stepdaughter then moving the child's remains to the Havre area and Oregon.
Denise Wolf smiled and laughed during her sentencing Thursday.
The Durant Democrat newspaper reports that District Judge Mark Campbell told Wolf her behavior was more evidence of her being evil.
"If you ever have a conscience, I hope you are haunted... for all that you did, but I don't think you will be because you are smiling and smirking, " Campbell said.
Wolf was convicted on five child abuse-related counts and an unlawful removal of a dead body count.
Prosecutors alleged she abused 12-year-old Cheyenne Wolf when the family lived near Bokchito, Okla., and agreed with her husband, Abel, not to disclose Cheyenne's 2008 death.
Instead of telling anyone, they packed Cheyenne's body in a storage container and moved to Oregon and then the Havre area.
Authorities arrested the couple in Havre in 2009. Cheyenne's remains were found in a Milton-Freewater, Ore., storage unit.
The district attorney attempted to get the five life sentences, with five additional years, to be served consecutively. Wolf's defense attorney was trying for concurrent punishment.
The Durant Daily Democrat reported that Judge Campbell took Wolf's flippant demeanor in the courtroom into account when sentencing.
"The Legislature does not allow me to give you the punishment you deserve, " Campbell said, in announcing that the sentences will be served consecutively. "You will draw your last breath behind the walls of a state prison. You are unfit for society. "
Denise Wolf's attorney couldn't be reached for comment.
The Daily Oklahoman newspaper reported that due to the decomposition of Cheyenne's body, the medical examiner could not determine the exact cause and manner of death, though investigators said they believed she died in April 2008.
The Wolfs were not charged with killing her.
A Texas judge awarded Abel Wolf custody of Cheyenne and two other daughters when he and their biological mother were going through divorce proceedings, Redman said in the Oklahoman. The two surviving daughters are in state custody.
(Material from The Associated Press was used in this story.)
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