Couple indicted in federal court in a murder for hire case

A Latimer County couple has now been indicted in federal court in a murder for hire case.

In 2021 about Dustin and Courtney Deatherage being charged in state court, but, that case has now been moved to federal court, due to their Native American status.

The affidavit filed in the case says she offered $500 to a friend, for him to kill her ex-husband.

The affidavit said the friend told investigators Courtney Deela, aka Ragland, aka Deatherage, texted him, asking him to kill her ex and they agreed to $250 up front and $250 after the job was done.

The affidavit says the friend said he came to OK from TX to meet with her and she told him where to find a picture of her ex and where he worked.

It says during that meeting, she and her current husband, gave the friend a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and $100.

It says when questioned by OSBI agents, she said she and her ex had been arguing over a loan and she was just texting her friend about the murder as a way to blow off steam and even after giving him a gun, she didn’t think anything was going to actually happen.

It says she said her current husband got the shotgun from his grandfather.

The affidavit says when her current husband was questioned, he said she’d been talking about having her ex murdered, for months.
He said she either used her stimulus money or money from the casino to pay the friend the $100.

He admitted they got the shotgun from his grandfather.

It says the grandfather says he loaned the shotgun because he was told they were going to shoot cans with it.