Family identifies woman killed in Oklahoma double murder

Reagan Netherland and Bryanna Moore

35 minutes ago

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (KNWA/KFTA) – A nurse is keeping the memories of Tara Barnett-Underwood, who she says was one of two people killed June 18 while on shift at LaFerry’s Propane in Gans, Oklahoma.

Special agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) have identified 50-year-old Stacy Lee Drake as a suspect. Drake was arrested Thursday morning in Arkansas.

On Tuesday, June 18, the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the OSBI after a man and woman were found dead at a store in Gans. Investigators identified 50-year-old Stacy Lee Drake of Birmingham, Alabama, as a suspect in the murder.

According to the OSBI, a vehicle suspected of being stolen by Drake was found later that night in Morrilton, Arkansas, leading investigators to believe he was in that area.

The second victim, a man, has not yet been identified.

Tara Underwood was working a regular shift at LaFerry’s Propane the day of the murders, said Tia Barnett, the victim’s younger sister.

“She was in her office with a co-worker,” Barnett said. “(The suspect) got off the highway to, I assume, get another vehicle to continue his rampage. And hers was right there.”

Barnett was driving when she received a call from Robert Underwood, the victim’s husband, who told her the terrible news.

“He was just distraught and crying, and I looked at my husband and thought, ‘What? What’s going on?'” Barnett said.

After learning of her sister’s death, Barnett pulled over to the side of the road and immediately began calling the rest of her family, she said.

Even in her grief, she finds time to remember the person her sister was.

“It was a lot of fun being her little sister,” Barnett said. “She was the life of every party. At school she was the It Girl. Everyone knew who she was.”

In addition to Barnett and her father Randy Barnett, Underwood-Barnett leaves behind her husband and three children.

“She channeled her fun at school into her role as a fun mom,” Barnett said. “She was just so great at everything she did.”

As the Barnetts process their grief, the fact that the suspected killer is still at large weighs heavily on them.

“I’m really scared,” Barnett said. “It’s going to take some time to get over that fear and think, ‘Okay, he’s still out there.'”

The Barnetts are urging people to share and spread any information about the murder or the suspect. Randy Barnett is currently running a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $9,000 to help the family cover funeral expenses.

“This could happen to anyone. I hope we get the justice she deserves. Her family, her children deserve justice.”