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The brutal details surrounding the William Campbell murderer case shook the entire community. Craig Wingard was an outstanding Marine who served his country for six years.
He was a lover of outdoor pursuits like fishing and hunting and was later passionate about BMX and downhill riding.
He left behind a large number of grieving friends and family.
A friend of his remembered him as “an extraordinary person with a major heart” who was taken from this world too early.
The murder of Craig Wingard
Craig Wingard was a former US Marine who was tragically murdered in 2015 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He was shot outside an apartment unit in East Woodrow while he was reportedly attempting to recover an allegedly stolen item from the unit’s occupants.
Unfortunately, this escalated into a fatal incident, and Wingard was shot five times. He was rushed to the hospital and died three days later.
The case against William Campbell and Sarah Helton
William Campbell and Sarah Helton were named as the prime suspects in the murder of Craig Wingard. Campbell was then just 17 years old, while Helton was accused of being an accessory to the crime.
According to witnesses, the confrontation between Wingard and Campbell happened because of a stolen set of car keys that Wingard intended to retrieve from Campbell.
On that fateful day, Wingard drove to Campbell’s Tulsa apartment and found him not present. As Wingard turned to leave, Campbell and Helton arrived in a car, and an argument ensued.
Shortly after, eight to nine shots were fired from a .22-caliber rifle from the driver’s side window. Multiple shots hit Wingard before the suspects fled the scene.
William Campbell murderer- Arrest and Trial
Police arrested Campbell and Helton soon after the incident. During questioning, Campbell admitted to firing the gun out the window.
He asserted that his intention was to intimidate Wingard and scare him off the premises. Unfortunately, his actions resulted in Wingard’s tragic death days later.
Campbell’s age, however, posed a complication that delayed the trial for nearly two years.
The trial went ahead in May 2017, and Campbell was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Craig Wingard in the first degree, along with five years for pointing the gun at Wingard’s girlfriend.
The Legal Battle Following Campbell’s Conviction
The legal battle surrounding Campbell’s conviction caused quite a stir.
At the tender age of 17, a contentious debate emerged among legal teams regarding the appropriate course of action for trying him as an adult in light of the committed murder.
After extensive discussions and careful examination of the case, Oklahoma officials ultimately reached a consensus, determining that he should face trial as an adult.
The Court of Criminal Appeals delivered the final judgment, which imposed a life imprisonment sentence on Campbell, sealing his fate.
It wasn’t until he reached age 20 that the legal proceedings concluded with Campbell’s ultimate conviction, marking a significant milestone in the resolution of the case.
In Oklahoma, a life conviction means a person must serve 45 years.
As such, Campbell faces the possibility of life in prison with no chance of parole for the heinous and tragic murder of Craig Wingard.
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