Barnsdall Mother Frustrated By Delays In Justice For Barnsdall Teen's Death

A Barnsdall woman is frustrated she will have to wait even longer to learn if the man charged with killing her son will accept a plea deal offered by the district attorney. Attorneys on both sides say the offered deal has not yet been accepted.

The Osage County District Attorney offered Weston Lowe a 20 year prison sentence with the chance for a judge to review the case in five years. Lowe is charged with driving drunk and killing 15-year-old Tyson Townley and injury two other passengers.

Investigators say Lowe ran from the scene, leaving behind Townley, his own daughter who was injured and another injured passenger. The boy’s family was in court on Thursday hoping to learn if Lowe accepted the district attorney’s plea deal, but it did not happen.

“We have voiced very loudly that we were not OK with that,” said Stacey Harris, Tyson’s mom. “That’s a slap on the wrist and it’s not justice for Tyson.”

Harris is frustrated with a lack of communication from district attorney Mike Fisher’s office about her son’s case, especially after the Oklahoma Highway Patrol submitted new evidence just last week.

“I wasn’t even aware that more evidence had been turned in and the plea deal had been on a brief hold other than hearing from channel 6 news,” said Harris.

Lowe gave up his rights to a preliminary hearing but didn’t mention the deal. Harris wonders how much longer she’ll have to wait and, in the meantime, Lowe remains out of custody.

“We live in a small town so we run across him a lot,” said Harris. “It’s hard.”

In a statement, Lowe’s attorney says in part, “he still retains all of his constitutional rights to due process, including his rights to trial.” Harris says her family will keep showing up to each court date to be a voice for her son.

Lowe’s attorney says that plea negotiations are still ongoing.