Families Coping, Hoping For Arrests 3 Years After Weleetka Girls' Murders

Jacqueline Sit, News 9

WELEETKA, Oklahoma -- June 8 marks three years since two Weleetka girls were shot and killed on a dirt road, and the murders remains unsolved.

The bodies of 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Jade Whitaker were found June 8, 2008. They had gone for a walk about four miles northeast of Weleetka. The girls were shot 13 times with two guns.

Related Story 6/7/11: No Arrests 3 Years After 2 Girls Shot In Weleetka

"I can't believe it's been 3 years," said Skyla's father William Whitaker. "It doesn't make it any easier. We're just coping day by day."

Whitaker says he talks with agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations several times a week.

"I know OSBI is doing everything in their power to get leads, and it means a lot to know it's still fresh in their minds," Whitaker said.

The OSBI says it's confident the case will one day be solved. In 2010, the FBI developed a profile of the killer or killers that the OSBI says helped generate new leads.

Whitaker sits in the Graham School memorial garden dedicated to the two girls a few times and reflects. The fountain, plaques, and pictures all came from donations from across the country.

"Skyla would've graduate from 8th grade this year. I still keep in touch with her friends and it's nice to see how they've all grown into their own persons," said Whitaker. "I miss her every day. She's daddy's little girl."