'Bawling Her Eyes Out': Daughter Mourns Victim In Major County Death

The family of a man who investigators said was murdered in Major County is remembering the victim as a loving father to a teenage girl.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said 39-year-old Thomas Walker, of Fairview, and his father went to the Major County Sheriff's Office on Sunday to report an altercation that may have been deadly.

When deputies went to the scene on East County Road 52, west of Fairview, they found 40-year-old Enid man Dennis Wilder dead, said Gerald Davidson, interim public information officer with the OSBI.

Walker was arrested in connection to the death, said Davidson. Walker's mugshot showed he had a black eye and a number of facial injuries.

The OSBI did not release any other information on the case.

"We just wish that we can have justice and that we get answers," said Wilder's niece, Kimbree Peppers. "It's been 48 hours and we haven't heard much about what's going on. We see the post of the man that killed him and he's all beat up and people talking negative, and we haven't even seen what our uncle, what their brother looks like."

Wilder's family said the victim was a father to a 14-year-old girl.

"We don't know how long he laid there before he took his last breath. But we do know and I will tell you this: My little brother would not have went out without a fight knowing he was never going to see his little girl again," said Wilder's sister, Susan Burghardt. "His life was that little girl. That's all he talked about. That's all he cared about."

Wilder's family also remembered him as someone who enjoyed helping others.

"You called him up and asked him for anything and he would drop whatever he's doing to come and help," said Burghardt. "He just fixed my plumbing two weeks ago. He fixed my brother's roof."

Wilder's family set up a GoFundMe page to help cover his funeral expenses. They said any extra money would go directly to Wilder's daughter.

"She's with her momma right now. And only thing is, she just keeps saying over and over and over, bawling her eyes out, is she wants her daddy back," said Burghardt.