A suspect has finally been charged in the 2021 shooting death of Cierra Abbott, a 22-year-old woman found dead in her car at Rotary Park in northwest Oklahoma City, after investigators say they traced the case through a pair of matching social media accounts. Alex Po, now 23, faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with Abbott's killing near Northwest 56th Street and Tulsa Avenue.
According to KOCO, Oklahoma City police filed charges against Po after using social media accounts to connect him to the shooting. The Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office stated in charging documents that Po faces a first-degree murder charge in Abbott's death, and that it allegedly occurred during the commission of a robbery.
A Deadly Encounter at a Northwest OKC Park
Abbott's shooting death occurred in July 2021. A witness who was with Abbott at the time told investigators that two suspects approached their car at the park, and that one of them pulled out a handgun and took marijuana from the occupants, the station's report notes. The shooter then allegedly asked Abbott what she was going to do, and she pulled a gun from her seat before the suspect fired.
Police at the time found Abbott dead in the car after responding to reports of shots fired, according to okcfox.com, which reported that the shooting happened late on a Wednesday evening at North Rotary Park. For years, the case sat without a named suspect.
Matching Usernames Across Two Platforms
That changed when detectives reviewed the case in March 2023 and identified an Instagram account they believed belonged to Po, per the same koco.com account. Investigators then compared that Instagram account with a Snapchat account that had been used to communicate with Abbott, ultimately determining the two accounts were connected to the same person based on similarities in usernames and other information.
Po was 18 at the time of the crime and is now 23, according to news9.com, which reports he was arrested on the charge of homicide in the first degree in the commission of a robbery. The arrest warrant states Po shot and killed Abbott while committing a robbery, that outlet reported.
Already Behind Bars on a Separate Case
Po was incarcerated in a separate case at the time the murder charge was filed. News9 reports he is currently being held at Allen Gamble Correctional Center for a separate robbery case, meaning he was already in custody before investigators tied him to Abbott's death.
Oklahoma law treats first-degree murder as a matter carrying the possibility of life imprisonment, with sentencing proceedings outlined under Oklahoma Statutes Title 21. The evidence reviewed does not establish whether Po has entered a plea or what his current court status is in the Abbott case.
