1980 Guest House Murders

[Lynne]

Looking for any info on this story.

[Pete]

Very good summary in the link below, which is a PDF of the appeal by Maynard.

Scroll down to I. Background B. Guest House Murders (last section):

http://www.texasdefenselawyers.com/C...ases/Bowen.pdf

A notorious triple murder occurred in Oklahoma City on July 6, 1980 at
approximately 2:00 a.m. Ray Peters, Lawrence Evans, and Marvin Nowlin were fatally
shot as they sat around a poolside table at the Guest House Inn motel. Although the
murder weapon was not found, bullets and *597 shell casings recovered at the scene
revealed that a .45 caliber automatic weapon with silver-tipped, hollow point
bullets had been used. Several witnesses related that an unfamiliar man had been
seen in the pool concession area before the shooting and that, after gunshots were
heard, he ran and fled in a waiting vehicle.

[Lynne]

Very good summary in the link below, which is a PDF of the appeal by Maynard.

Scroll down to I. Background B. Guest House Murders (last section):

http://www.texasdefenselawyers.com/C...ases/Bowen.pdf

Ray Peters was my ex-husband. This is a lot more than just a common crime. There is a secret or two and a distinct impression the killer was in no way the guy they convicted. In fact it wasn't even a guy.

[Lynne]

Bowen was released in 1986. He didn't do it.

[Lynne]

Ray Peters was my ex husband and my friend. There is much more to this story and the wrong man went to jail ( Clifford Henry Bowen~~he was released in 1986) but the real murderer is still free.

Gonna ghost this baby into a crime thriller, third person but I need releases from many people. Not all the principles are dead yet,

[OKCRT]

Was this a mafia related hit? That is the old rumor I remember.

[kevinpate]

If memory serves, this was the great phantom plane case, a yarn spun by the prosecution in an attempt to thrash the alibi of the defendant.

[Lynne]

Was this a mafia related hit? That is the old rumor I remember.

Dixie Mafia for sure. Kirksey Nix, Paul Mazzella the whole bag of horrors

[Lynne]

If memory serves, this was the great phantom plane case, a yarn spun by the prosecution in an attempt to thrash the alibi of the defendant.

Good call and yes the whole thing was messed up. It involved an OKC detective, the Dixie mafia, prostitution, drugs and whatever else they could throw in there. Im not defending Ray. He was a dilaudid user at the end and talked too much, but Clifford Henry Bowen wasn't the guy. In fact it wasn't even a guy that arranged things. Lots of twists and turns. The more I learn the weirder it gets. Thing is I knew these people, knew what they were capable of and even now people don't want to talk about it. I left the City in 76, thank God. I was young but even I could see sh## was getting real.

[ljbab728]

Looking for any info on this story.

Is there any particular reason you're looking for information after so many years?

[Lynne]

Is there any particular reason you're looking for information after so many years?

WOW! Great question. Yes. I knew Ray was killed about a year after it happened. I was in Ft Lauderdale by then, we split in 72/73. saw him once more in 75 ( he called me in Houston and I flew to Dallas to see him) he'd been shot, and NOT by who he said did it) I didn't catch it at the time, but court records have cleared that up. Now recent re-connections with old (emphasis on 'old', I'm 66 now) friends have given me an entire new take. I never knew any of the particulars and the more I began to dig the weirder it got. Ray was a semi pimp, not in the old movie sense of standing outside the building and psst psst-ing in the tricks but the kind of guy that took care of me. Hot bath when I got home, a good joint, or glass of wine, whatever and then we drove to some all night joint, the Canadian Club out by Tuttle (if memory serves) and danced and socialized all night with our own kind. Hot pony cars, sleeping all day, working half the night and playing the rest. We didn't work the streets. Back in the day it was all call service, more Klute than Taxi Driver. there was no need for an actual pimp. They called it 'joining each other out.' As in out into 'the life'.
It was hedonistic and self-indulgent but we were kids and it was never going to end, right?

Ray was good to me, if you can get your head around that. Lots of girls didn't have it half as good as me and my friends did. No beatings, no terrorizing unless I was in a bad mood.In our own way we lived a very normal life.

so to answer your question, do I want to re-live that and make it more beautiful than it was? Maybe. But sometimes it just comes down to your own 'life more examined' and plus there is some real Quinton Tarrantino stuff that went on. it's a great story, with or without me being included in any of it.
You pick.

Thanks for you insightful question. I think this is where a lot of the ideas come from.

[Lynne]

Good call and yes the whole thing was messed up. It involved an OKC detective, the Dixie mafia, prostitution, drugs and whatever else they could throw in there. Im not defending Ray. He was a dilaudid user at the end and talked too much, but Clifford Henry Bowen wasn't the guy. In fact it wasn't even a guy that arranged things. Lots of twists and turns. The more I learn the weirder it gets. Thing is I knew these people, knew what they were capable of and even now people don't want to talk about it. I left the City in 76, thank God. I was young but even I could see sh## was getting real.

Very good summary in the link below, which is a PDF of the appeal by Maynard.

Scroll down to I. Background B. Guest House Murders (last section):

http://www.texasdefenselawyers.com/C...ases/Bowen.pdf

Yeah, i appreciate the summary but I'm way past that now.It was a good starting point but it's too dry to tell the real story. But you looked it up and for that I'm grateful.

[ljbab728]

WOW! Great question. Yes. I knew Ray was killed about a year after it happened. I was in Ft Lauderdale by then, we split in 72/73. saw him once more in 75 ( he called me in Houston and I flew to Dallas to see him) he'd been shot, and NOT by who he said did it) I didn't catch it at the time, but court records have cleared that up. Now recent re-connections with old (emphasis on 'old', I'm 66 now) friends have given me an entire new take. I never knew any of the particulars and the more I began to dig the weirder it got. Ray was a semi pimp, not in the old movie sense of standing outside the building and psst psst-ing in the tricks but the kind of guy that took care of me. Hot bath when I got home, a good joint, or glass of wine, whatever and then we drove to some all night joint, the Canadian Club out by Tuttle (if memory serves) and danced and socialized all night with our own kind. Hot pony cars, sleeping all day, working half the night and playing the rest. We didn't work the streets. Back in the day it was all call service, more Klute than Taxi Driver. there was no need for an actual pimp. They called it 'joining each other out.' As in out into 'the life'.
It was hedonistic and self-indulgent but we were kids and it was never going to end, right?

Ray was good to me, if you can get your head around that. Lots of girls didn't have it half as good as me and my friends did. No beatings, no terrorizing unless I was in a bad mood.In our own way we lived a very normal life.

so to answer your question, do I want to re-live that and make it more beautiful than it was? Maybe. But sometimes it just comes down to your own 'life more examined' and plus there is some real Quinton Tarrantino stuff that went on. it's a great story, with or without me being included in any of it.
You pick.

Thanks for you insightful question. I think this is where a lot of the ideas come from.

That's interesting. A couple of side thought are that 66 isn't old because that's my age. LOL
If you're talking about the same Canadian Club I knew about it was on County Line Road on the east side of Mustang where Fireworks City is now.

[RadicalModerate]

For what it's worth, I think this story would make a great crime "novel" and I, for one, would probably buy a copy. And I'm not a big crime or crime fiction reader. (I think the last crime novel I read was "Blood Will Tell" about that Cullen Davis deal that happened down in Ft. Worth many, many, years ago. And about the same time, "Helter Skelter" "The Family" and later "Outrage" Vincent Bugliosi's coverage of the O.J. Simpson debacle.)

One thing that I find especially interesting here is your reference to "examining your life."
There is an old saying that "the unexamined life isn't worth living."

(b.t.w.: it wasn't six months ago that a fellow I work with was reminiscing about The Canadian Club (and what is now Gabriella's) as hotbeds of gambling. I seem to recall that somehow Cattlemen's Café entered into that round of local nostalgia. I'm only 61 and only hung out on the Far East Side of the OKC Metro back when all this was going down, so I could only imagine some of the things he was sharing. We had some pretty bad dudes out there too, so I could relate.)

(the most recent "crime" "novel" I read is "The Mark Inside" by Amy Reading. I still recommend it to any doubters regarding the actual value of "humbug.' =)

[Lynne]

That's interesting. A couple of side thought are that 66 isn't old because that's my age. LOL
If you're talking about the same Canadian Club I knew about it was on County Line Road on the east side of Mustang where Fireworks City is now.

That's the one. There isn't a single reference to that place anywhere that I can find on the net.
It was a 'character' hangout, for sure , as in 'police character'. I don't know about the gambling in 68-72 but we went there to dance. It certainly was where every night crawler wound up sooner or later. Interesting thing about OKC 'underground' society back then. It was very small so you might sit down at a table with two hookers, a second story guy, a professional gambler, two queens and a Jr. Senator from somewhere down around Madill. And one of the queens would be sitting on the Jr Senator's lap.

Good times.

[Lynne]

For what it's worth, I think this story would make a great crime "novel" and I, for one, would probably buy a copy. And I'm not a big crime or crime fiction reader. (I think the last crime novel I read was "Blood Will Tell" about that Cullen Davis deal that happened down in Ft. Worth many, many, years ago. And about the same time, "Helter Skelter" "The Family" and later "Outrage" Vincent Bugliosi's coverage of the O.J. Simpson debacle.)

One thing that I find especially interesting here is your reference to "examining your life."
There is an old saying that "the unexamined life isn't worth living."

(b.t.w.: it wasn't six months ago that a fellow I work with was reminiscing about The Canadian Club (and what is now Gabriella's) as hotbeds of gambling. I seem to recall that somehow Cattlemen's Café entered into that round of local nostalgia. I'm only 61 and only hung out on the Far East Side of the OKC Metro back when all this was going down, so I could only imagine some of the things he was sharing. We had some pretty bad dudes out there too, so I could relate.)

(the most recent "crime" "novel" I read is "The Mark Inside" by Amy Reading. I still recommend it to any doubters regarding the actual value of "humbug.' =)

I'm never been big on true crime novels as they can be rather dry, if that's the word I'm looking for. I remember 'Small Sacrifices', about Diane Downs, the woman who shot her three children that left an impression. And not just because Farrah Fawcett played her in the movie. As I mentioned earlier. I had a little tryst with a Star Spenser boy named Ron McBeth that made his own waves for a while. NOT a nice guy. Also remember some talk about the Heath brothers.

As for 'the un-examined life' yes, the very quote I was referencing. Good call.

[Lynne]

I'd also like to take a mo to appreciate your support of my own personal theory that you truly are as young as you feel. And now that you mention it Cattleman's was another 'one of those places' where things always seemed to be happening.

As for the east side, yikes! Them Star Spenser guys were no slouches!

[Lynne]

If I'm not responding correctly to the right person I beg an indulgence. Even a simple format such as this takes time to get the hang of. I just appreciate every response so much I get excited to do each one justice. Nothing is too small nor in any way unimportant. The lapse in manners is mine, I assure you.

[gen70]

Marvin Nowlin was a friend of mine from grade school until his death. Did you know that his father was killed by an OKC policeman?

[RadicalModerate]

That's the one. There isn't a single reference to that place anywhere that I can find on the net.
It was a 'character' hangout, for sure , as in 'police character'. I don't know about the gambling in 68-72 but we went there to dance. It certainly was where every night crawler wound up sooner or later. Interesting thing about OKC 'underground' society back then. It was very small so you might sit down at a table with two hookers, a second story guy, a professional gambler, two queens and a Jr. Senator from somewhere down around Madill. And one of the queens would be sitting on the Jr Senator's lap.

Good times.

Way back in the day . . . Far before my time . . . A noted Lawman, felled while on duty in semi-retirement, acting on behalf of Law and Order, the trail of a Fugitive from Justice who got shot in Cromwell (a former Oil Boom Town) "bit the bullet" down around Madill. Perhaps in the vicinity of Kingston. On second thought it was probably Madill.

[please allow me a moment or two to properly reconstruct the "facts" of the case . . . thank you]

While you are on hold . . . check out the William "Bill" Tilghmann file . . .
(there is a reason They call it "The Thin Blue Line" . . . =)

After all . . . It was Oklahoma.

Thank "Goodness" we have evolved in a generally positive direction since then.

[gen70]

Good to know, Rad.

[rezman]

Also remember some talk about the Heath brothers.

I worked with a couple guys who grew up in the east metro... Harrah.. Mcloud areas... Both new the Heath boys and had a few stories to tell.

[OKCRT]

I worked with a couple guys who grew up in the east metro... Harrah.. Mcloud areas... Both new the Heath boys and had a few stories to tell.

Do you remember Podie Poe? Where exactly was his gambling joint and how did he get away with it for so long?

[stick47]

Way back in the day . . . Far before my time . . . A noted Lawman, felled while on duty in semi-retirement, acting on behalf of Law and Order, the trail of a Fugitive from Justice who got shot in Cromwell (a former Oil Boom Town) "bit the bullet" down around Madill. Perhaps in the vicinity of Kingston. On second thought it was probably Madill.

[please allow me a moment or two to properly reconstruct the "facts" of the case . . . thank you]

While you are on hold . . . check out the William "Bill" Tilghmann file . . .
(there is a reason They call it "The Thin Blue Line" . . . =)

After all . . . It was Oklahoma.

Thank "Goodness" we have evolved in a generally positive direction since then.

Wylie Linn I think was his name. Two of my uncles were at the scene when Mr Tilhman and Linn were outside waiting to be transferred to the Ardmore hospital. As they loaded one into the ambulance they told the other to get in but he (I don't recall which man said it) said "Hell no! I'm not riding with that SOB" and the Madill Dr couldn't save him. Both men died.
More info Wiley Lynn - Topic

[boscorama]

This is interesting. Keep it coming.

If I'm not responding correctly to the right person I beg an indulgence. Even a simple format such as this takes time to get the hang of. I just appreciate every response so much I get excited to do each one justice. Nothing is too small nor in any way unimportant. The lapse in manners is mine, I assure you.