Inset left: Billy Buford (Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office). Inset right: Douglas Smitherman (Obituary). Background: The car wash where Buford killed Smitherman in Oklahoma City, Okla. (Google Maps).
An Oklahoma man will spend significant time behind bars after beating another man to death with a 2×4 at a car wash.
In May of this year, Billy Buford, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the first degree over the May 2025 death of 48-year-old Douglas Smitherman, according to a press release issued by the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office.
This week, he was sentenced to life in prison with all but the first 16 years of the sentence suspended, prosecutors said.
The underlying incident occurred at the An-Son Car Wash on NW 122nd Street in Oklahoma City on May 2, 2025.
The day in question was a Friday, and police responded to the car wash after someone reported finding a dead body there. Initially, no arrests were made, but the victim was identified, according to a contemporaneous report by Oklahoma City-based Fox affiliate KOKH.
The victim had injuries consistent with homicide, according to police. Later that month, Buford was arrested on a homicide charge.
Investigators determined Buford repeatedly beat Smitherman in the head with a 2×4 at the since-shuttered car wash.
Authorities did not offer a motive, but said the two men had fought and thrown bricks at one another in the days before Smitherman's death, according to a report by local CBS affiliate KWTV.
The victim's mother fondly remembered her son, known to friends and family as "DougE Fresh," local ABC affiliate KOCO reported.
"A good dresser, he dressed nice, and Dougee was borderline genius," the grieving mother said. "Dougee was a registered nurse, he was house supervisor here at McAlester Regional for about three years."
The man's obituary elaborates:
DougE was a beloved son, father, brother, and friend. He graduated from McAlester High School in the class 1995, where his teachers couldn't believe how he maintained a 4.0 GPA despite missing many days of his senior year. His intelligence and natural talent stood out; DougE was a certified personal Trainer and worked for Gold's gym in Oklahoma City for two years, he then earned his RN nursing degree graduating in the top 1/3 of his class from Eastern Oklahoma State College…
His patients loved him, and he was known as a great nurse who genuinely cared for those under his care. He also served as a traveling nurse in various hospitals across the state, touching many lives with his caring nature.
Smitherman had recently moved back to Oklahoma City in an effort to revamp his life, his family added.
"He felt like he couldn't make it in McAlester — he felt like everyone knew him, and he wanted to start a new life," his mother said.
Buford's plea was entered blind on the lesser manslaughter charge, meaning the sentence was not agreed upon at the time.
A presentencing investigation concluded recently, before his sentencing, according to the district attorney's office.
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