Jury Nails Pocola Man In Abandoned House Slaying

A LeFlore County jury has found a Pocola man guilty in the killing of a 24-year-old whose body was discovered behind an abandoned house in town, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday. The verdict caps a year-long investigation that began when the body was found in mid-January 2025 and drew in agencies from eastern Oklahoma and neighboring Arkansas. The defendant, arrested last winter in Fort Smith, had been held on a first-degree murder warrant while the case moved through the courts.

Investigation timeline

Police found the victim, later identified as 24-year-old Jaybriel Montgomery, on Jan. 16, 2025, behind an abandoned residence near Butler and Clark avenues in Pocola, triggering a multi-agency homicide investigation. Investigators eventually identified Parker Maxwell Smith as a suspect and filed a first-degree murder warrant. Smith was arrested in Fort Smith on Jan. 31, 2025, and booked into Sebastian County custody pending extradition, according to reporting by KGGF Radio and contemporaneous agency releases.

OSBI statement on verdict

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced that a suspect had been found guilty following the Pocola homicide investigation and publicly thanked partner agencies for their work. "SUSPECT FOUND GUILTY FOLLOWING POCOLA HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION," the agency wrote in its social media post. The brief update serves as OSBI's closing note on the case and does not include a sentencing date. See the OSBI announcement on X for the agency's statement.

Legal next steps

A first-degree murder conviction carries the most severe penalties under Oklahoma law, including life imprisonment or, in certain circumstances, the death penalty. Sentencing will be set by the LeFlore County District Court following standard post-verdict procedures. The statutory framework governing punishment for first-degree murder is outlined by the Oklahoma Legislature. For details on the statutory penalties, see the legislative summary from the Oklahoma Legislature.

Tips and contact

During the initial investigation, OSBI and local law enforcement urged anyone with information about the case to come forward, providing a dedicated tip line and email address. Local reporting at the time of the arrest listed the OSBI tip line as 1-800-522-8017 and [email protected]. Community members with relevant information are still encouraged to contact investigators as the case moves toward sentencing. Background on the investigation and contact details are available in reporting by OKW News.