'Headed to the finish line:' Family seeks closure as convicted killer will return to Oklahoma for execution

A Tulsa County man is relieved after learning a convicted killer is going to be brought back to Oklahoma for execution, 26 years after the crime. 

77-year-old Mary Bowles and 44-year-old Gerald Thurman were murdered, and one of the killers has been serving time for a robbery in Louisiana.

After decades of delays, Jacob Thurman, Gerald's son, says he's ready to close this chapter of his life and finally get the peace he wasn't sure he would ever get.

Who is Gerald Thurman? 

Jacob says Gerald was a wonderful father who taught him to help anyone who needed it.

"Anybody needed anything, he was, even if he was a stranger, he would come running," said Jacob. "That was it, you know, Oklahoma values."

A good Samaritan's effort

Gerald's Oklahoma values were on full display when he tried to save Mary Bowles after she was kidnapped from the Promenade Mall by two men and taken to a rural area where Gerald was working.

"He was just doing his job and then someone with very selfish actions came out and two men ended up taking two lives that can never be replaced," said Thurman. 

Details of the case

Mary was killed by John Hanson, and Gerald was killed by Hanson's partner, Victor Miller.

A jury found Hanson guilty and sentenced him to death.

He was supposed to be executed in December of 2022, but he was in federal prison in Louisiana for robbery and the Federal Bureau of Prisons wouldn't transfer him back to Oklahoma because there was a moratorium on death sentences.

"It was frustrating especially to be so close in December of 2022 and to have multiple steps backwards," said Thurman. 

One step closer to justice

The newly appointed U.S. Attorney General now says Hanson can be sent back to Oklahoma to be executed, something Jacob Thurman was afraid would never happen.

"I'm just thankful things that things turned around, and we're headed to the finish line of this, and we can all get the closure that we deserve and move on with our lives," said Thurman.

What's next for Hanson?

Hanson will be brought back to Oklahoma by March.

His execution could be in June.