Left: Photo of Candace Kehoe with her three daughters shared by her family. Right: Photo of George Dakota Kehoe from his obituary. Inset: Candace Kehoe's stepmother Thuresa Hill. (via Law&Crime Network)
A new autopsy report gives insight into the death of a young Oklahoma woman whose body was found alongside her ex-husband's body in July.
Candace Kehoe, 26, was found dead inside a truck that was sinking in Claremore Lake in Claremore, Oklahoma, on July 25. Her ex, George Dakota Kehoe, 27, was also dead inside the truck from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Claremore Police investigated the deaths as a murder-suicide.
Candace Kehoe and George Kehoe shared three daughters together, ages 5, 7, and 9. The two were only married for two years and were dealing with child custody issues at the time of their deaths, according to family members.
When Candace Kehoe's body was found in July, police only said she died from a "violent encounter." But a newly released autopsy report from the medical examiner's office reveals her body had multiple stab wounds and signs of asphyxiation. The report said a plastic bag was placed over Candace Kehoe's head.
Candace Kehoe's stepmother, Thuresa Hill, told Law&Crime's Sidebar podcast that her grandchildren are now with their uncle, who has permanent guardianship.
"We're trying our best," Hill told Angenette Levy in an interview. "We now know how she suffered. So it's been a rough few days for all of us, especially for her siblings."
"Therapy is helping them," Hill continued, referring to Candace Kehoe's children. "There's a lot of things that got disclosed, there's forensic interviews and things like that. So there's a lot more therapy that needs to be done than just their mother's death. There's a lot of trauma that has happened throughout their lives and now we're going to make sure that no matter what, they are supported."
During the interview with Sidebar, Hill disclosed that her grandchildren had been sexually abused at the hands of their father. Detective John Singer, the lead investigator on the Kehoe murder-suicide case, says he believes that disclosure by one of the children may have led to the extreme violence Candace Kehoe experienced.
"George came to know that this daughter had disclosed what had been done to her," Singer said. "He drove in from out of state overnight and within hours he's coaxed Candace to his house. He does terrible things to her, resulting in her death. Then he tells some of his family and friends what he's done and that he's about to commit suicide."
According to police, they originally responded to George Kehoe's home, where they discovered a crime scene but no one was there. When a report came in soon after about a truck sinking in Lake Claremore, authorities didn't think it was connected at first, but eventually everything clicked into place.
Singer says this wasn't a typical domestic violence case.
"Keep in mind that the really bitter, nasty custody and divorce case has been ongoing for, I think eight years. For pretty much the life of all three daughters, mom and dad have been in a pretty ugly custody battle," the detective told Levy. "Obviously, George killed Candace. There was nothing healthy about their relationship. But I don't think that there was any real evidence of the traditional domestic violence relationship. This one's different in that George and Candace have been in an ugly court battle for a bunch of years, resulting in death."
"These poor little girls have been exposed to this lifelong dispute was never in their best interest, even before their mother was murdered," Singer continued. "It just couldn't have had a worse ending."
"My children, my grandchildren are the ones who are suffering now," Hill said. "They're the ones who have to go the rest of their lives knowing what their dad did to them, and then knowing what their dad did to their mom, the one who was really trying to protect them and make sure that they were safe."
Candace Kehoe's stepmother has advice for others who could find themselves in harmful situations.
"Even if you are bound and determined for your children to have that other parent, if that other parent is very toxic and abusive and not behaving like a parent should be, it doesn't matter," she said. "Fight for your children. Do the best that you possibly can to keep them away, no matter what it takes. Because if not, this situation is what could be the ending."
