Roberta “Bobbie” Lynn Daniel

Date Found: January 2, 1988

Location: Watonga, Oklahoma

Investigating Agency: Blaine County Sheriff’s Office

(580) 623-5111

Someone murdered Roberta Lynn Daniel, also known as Bobbie Lynn Daniel, in her Watonga home on January 2, 1988. That particular night had been brutally cold, the roads of the town ice and snow covered. Terry Daniel claims he was at work on Saturday and, upon returning home, found his wife had been brutally attacked. Bobbie’s skull had been crushed, her throat slit, and a hunting knife plunged into her left side. Authorities later determined that the knife belonged to her husband.

They found that the broken window near the back door was the only sign of forced entry into the home. Thieves stole some jewelry, which belonged to the victim and wasn’t worth much. They later discovered the bag containing the stolen jewelry alongside a country road. In 1994, a grand jury indicted Terry Daniel for the first-degree murder of his wife, but after a week-long trial in 2000, the court acquitted him.

There are those who still have their doubts about his innocence, including Bobbie’s daughter from her first marriage. Terry was the first beneficiary of a $500,000 life insurance policy on Bobbie, which he took out only a few months before her death. By the time he was able to collect on the insurance money, with interest it had grown to about $1,000,000.

Authorities cleared around 22 other suspects in the case, leaving only Terry. One suspect, a friend of the Daniels, even faced accusations of having an affair with Bobbie. There was no evidence of said affair, and the family friend denied such a thing. However, there was the issue of Bobbie apparently telling her close friend a couple weeks before her death that she was afraid for her life. Why she was afraid, she wouldn’t tell her friend, but Bobbie did state that she was happy with the state of her marriage.

The initial theory was that a robbery had occurred within the Daniel household, with the robber surprising Bobbie, and resulting in her death. However, the evidence for a robbery doesn’t quite hold water. Investigators testified that the broken window by the door showed no signs of anyone entering through it and that the window was too far from the door handle to reach it.

There’s also the issue of the medical examiner’s findings. It appears that Bobbie had lain on her side for 15-30 minutes before someone turned her onto her back. Investigators determined that the knife, found in her side, was plunged into her after she had already died.

What happened to Bobbie Daniel largely remains a mystery. Some feel that her husband killed her and got away with murder, others feel the killer is still walking around a free man. Regardless of the truth, neither Bobbie nor her nine-year-old daughter has seen justice.

If you have any information pertaining to the murder of Roberta “Bobbie” Lynn Daniel, please contact the Blaine County Sheriff’s department at (580) 623-5111.