April Rose Wilkens

April Rose Wilkens (born April 25, 1970)[1] is an American woman serving a life sentence at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in Oklahoma for killing her ex-fiancé Terry Carlton, the son of a multimillionaire in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She claimed self-defense. Her case caused an "outcry from those who say she acted because of battered woman syndrome."[2] April Wilkens is featured as starting head of the dog rehabilitation and adoption program in Mabel Basset in the 2015 student documentary Bassett Tails by Friends for Folks.[3][4][5]

Conviction

April Wilkens shot Terry Carlton eight times on April 28, 1998, in his Tulsa house. They both had used illegal substances before the killing. The Tulsa world reported that the "case drew immediate attention" because Wilkens's defense, battered woman syndrome, was "fairly new and virtually untested in Oklahoma courts." April Wilkens did not take a gun to the house, and stayed there after the killing until police arrived, covering the body with a blanket and making no attempt to make it look like someone else committed the killing. This was consistent with her statement that "she did not feel she did anything wrong."[6] A neighbor told the jury that April appeared to want to leave town the night before the killing.[7] April Wilkens was 29 years old when she was convicted of first-degree murder.[8]

Terry Carlton took April Wilkens on lavish trips and on one occasion attacked her when they were in the Netherlands in 1996.[9] Carlton was the son of a multimillionaire in Tulsa, Oklahoma, whose father, Don Carlton, was involved with a bribery scandal at Honda.[10] Don Carlton later sued April for amount of actual and punitive damages after the trial,[11] but later dropped the case. Terry Carlton bragged about paying off the police when April would report his abuse, and the Tulsa police did not enforce a warrant for his arrest, either, before his death.[12] Carlton was the uncle of Justin Carlton Bruton, a suspect in the murder of Anastasia WitbolsFeugen, and supporters of April released evidence dating back to 2008 that Terry Carlton and the Bruton/Carlton family believed that Justin Bruton, not the convicted Byron Case, killed Anastasia and then himself. Terry used WitbolsFeugen's death to intimidate April Wilkens, according to her legal documents.[13][14] April Wilkens recorded Terry Carlton admitting to abusing and raping her.[15]

Wilkens "filed an application for Post-Conviction Relief in 2003 and 2009, stating her attorney failed to present key evidence on her behalf" and that then-DA Tim Harris "should have been disqualified from prosecuting her case due to this personal relationship with Don Carlton, who afterward contributed to his political campaigns and even held a public reception for him."[16][17] The now-retired judge on the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Charles Johnson, who denied Wilkens's appeals and did not recuse himself, married Don Carlton and his wife in 1996 (before Terry Carlton's death) and Carlton's granddaughter, Jennifer Elizabeth Bruton.[18][19]

Reference
  1. "Oklahoma Department of Corrections OK Offender". doc.ok.gov. Retrieved November 18, 2021. Offender: April R. Wilkens | OK DOC#: 282399 | Birth Date: 4/25/1970
  2. PARRISH, ASHLEY (July 8, 1999). "Abused woman gets life sentence". Tulsa World.
  3. Reporter, Sarah Pitts, Life & Arts. "Sister Speaks at Mabel Bassett". OU Daily. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  4. Bassett Tales - Friends for Folks, retrieved November 17, 2021
  5. "Oklahoma prison becomes second in state to open dog training program". Oklahoman.com. January 25, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  6. BRAUN, BILL (April 25, 1999). "Woman convicted of murder". Tulsa World.
  7. Writer, BILL BRAUN World Staff. "Defendant wanted to leave town, her neighbor testifies". Tulsa World. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  8. "Woman Gets Life Sentence". The Oklahoman. April 27, 1999.
  9. Braun, Bill (April 17, 1999). "Attack led to slaying, woman says".
  10. Johnson, Greg (March 15, 1994). "Honda Payola Went on for Years, FBI Says : Inquiry: Observers ask how the company could have allowed such a widespread illicit enterprise to continue for so long". LA Times.
  11. Braun, Bill (May 28, 1999). "Killer faces drug rap". Tulsa World.
  12. "Two decades later, a woman sentenced to life for killing her abuser still fights for freedom". VNN. October 4, 2021.
  13. "RE: APRIL'S CONNECTION TO BYRON CASE AND JUSTIN BRUTON". Free April Wilkens. July 2, 2021.
  14. "2 KILLINGS, 1 TULSA CAR DEALERSHIP FAMILY: APRIL WILKENS CONNECTION TO BYRON CASE". Free April Wilkens. February 7, 2021.
  15. Randag, Dave (November 9, 2008). "April Wilkens' Story". YouTube.
  16. VNN (October 4, 2021). "Two decades later, a woman sentenced to life for killing her abuser still fights for freedom". YouTube.
  17. BRANSTETTER, ZIVA (July 21, 2006). "DA's race among most moneyed". Tulsa World.
  18. Reports, Staff. "Green-Bruton". Tulsa World. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  19. "Marriage Record 89 - Appellant's Brief, Pg. 83" (PDF). April Wilkens Blog.
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