Burried alive?

[truth]

Son calls stunned parents after his funeral



OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (AP) --Charles Wyckoff and his wife had returned home after a funeral for their son when the phone rang.

"Hey, Dad," Kevin Wyckoff said.

"Huh. Well, damn boy. We just had your funeral today," his father said Monday, according to a transcript of the call provided Wednesday by the Oklahoma Corrections Department.

"Yeah, I know. I heard," Kevin Wyckoff said.

"Well, what the hell is going on?" his father asked.

Prison officials had misidentified an inmate who had hanged himself behind bars as Wyckoff. The inmate, who was buried Monday in Wyckoff's place, is believed to be Steven L. Howe, the Corrections Department said.

Wyckoff, 23, is serving a five-year sentence for offenses including kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The Corrections Department had a transcript of Wyckoff's conversation with his parents because it routinely monitors inmate calls.

The younger Wyckoff said prison officials had put Howe's name on a cell where he had been moved, and left his name on the cell where Howe committed suicide.

Corrections Department spokesman Jerry Massie said investigators were trying to determine whether the two inmates switched cells without permission or if staff made the switch without filing a report.

Both had entered the prison, the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center, on December 5 and are similar in appearance, officials said.

Sequoyah County District Attorney Richard Gray said that if Howe's family agrees, his body could be exhumed next week.

During the phone call, Wyckoff also spoke to his mother.

"Kevin, I can not believe this," said his mother, whose name was not released. Calls to the Wyckoff home in Sallisaw on Wednesday were not answered.

"We buried you today, boy," she said.

"I understand that. It's not my fault, though," he responded.

"OK. Somebody's in deep trouble," his mother said.

The family will not receive any immediate reimbursement for the funeral expense and may have to file a claim, Massie said. "We can't just write them a check."


Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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[snowsprite]

As a mom...this one really freaks me. Can only imagine feeling like my heart was being slowly ripped out of me and crying til I could not cry anymore--and then having to go "Oh, okay false alarm-- never mind!" Must have been quite a relief though!

Sidenote...he sounds like a pretty messed up kid. Wonder what the kidnapping rap was all about?
Sprite

[Samwich]

Originally posted by snowsprite

As a mom...this one really freaks me. Can only imagine feeling like my heart was being slowly ripped out of me and crying til I could not cry anymore--and then having to go "Oh, okay false alarm-- never mind!" Must have been quite a relief though!

Sidenote...he sounds like a pretty messed up kid. Wonder what the kidnapping rap was all about?
Sprite

kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor? Sounds like either a frat or a gang initiation to me.

[splat]

Thought this would be about hardrider getting buried in his sluff at the wood today......