A Stillwater man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2023 murder of 17-year-old Teedeenae “Jackson” Yearby, a case that stretched across more than two years, two law enforcement investigations, and a search for remains that went unresolved for over a year after the teen vanished. Quinlan Phipps was also sentenced to seven years for desecrating a human corpse, with that term running concurrently with his life sentence.
Yearby was first reported missing in February 2023, according to News9. The teen was reported missing to Stillwater police specifically on February 7, 2023, per 1600 KUSH. More than a year passed before investigators arrested anyone in connection with his disappearance.
Stillwater police arrested Phipps, then 19, on April 17, 2024, around 4 p.m., in connection with Yearby's murder, according to a report from OKC Fox. The Stillwater Police Department's official announcement likewise identified Phipps as having been arrested that Wednesday in connection with the case, per the city's own civic alert. Phipps was booked into the Payne County Jail following his arrest, according to KOKI FOX 23. He was ultimately charged with first-degree murder and desecration of a human corpse.
Remains Recovered Six Days Later
Just days after Phipps's arrest, a joint operation involving the Stillwater Police Department, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Payne County Sheriff's Office resulted in the recovery of human remains, 1600 KUSH reported. Human remains believed to be Yearby's were not discovered until more than a year after he went missing, per the same News9 account. DNA testing later confirmed that evidence from the crime scene belonged to Teedeenae “Jackson” Yearby, according to DNA Solves.
Investigators relied on Othram technology to help advance the case, which DNA Solves describes as the first publicly announced case in Oklahoma where law enforcement used that technology to move an investigation forward. Yearby was enrolled with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and was affiliated with both the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the organization noted.
Conflicting Accounts of the Plea
Accounts of how Phipps's case concluded differ. News9 reported that Phipps was found guilty on September 25, 2026, and sentenced to life in prison, with parole, on October 1. KOKI FOX 23, however, reported that Phipps pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and desecration of a human corpse on that same September date, according to court documents. Hoodline could not independently resolve which account is accurate.
What is clear is the outcome: Phipps was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder charge and to seven years for desecration of a human corpse, with the sentences set to run concurrently, according to KOKI FOX 23's reporting.
Part of a Larger Pattern
Yearby's case has also been cited in broader conversations about missing and murdered Indigenous people. The O'Colly reported that Native women are 10 times more likely to be murdered or sexually assaulted, and that 82% of Indigenous men will experience violence in their lifetime. One person quoted in that coverage said, “the more people in our communities that are killed off or they're missing, that not only takes people away, but it takes away our culture.”
