Evelyn Prince plans to watch the New Year’s Day episode of American Monsters in the privacy of her home. It focuses on the 2016 murder of her parents, complete with a dramatic re-enactment that she has been told is graphic to watch. She hasn’t seen it yet, but feels hopeful the show will reveal some answers, even though she expects to “ugly cry” while watching.
“I hope we get the truth to where everybody could know what really happened that day, not just to my family but the numerous other people shot by Michael Vance. This goes beyond my family, the community and everybody has the right to know what really happened,” she said.
Answers for her Parents
That October day six years ago, Michael Vance, recently out of jail, began the day’s crime spree by shooting two Wellston police officers, stealing a cruiser, switching cars at a trailer park on Route 66 while shooting someone else before he drove to Ron and Kay Wilkson’s house in Luther and murdered them. He took Kay’s car and made it to Oklahoma City before escaping to western Oklahoma, by then the case was under a national spotlight. He was gunned down by law enforcement a week later.
There are so many victims. Only Ron and Kay, a second cousin to Vance, lost their lives, but the wounds and scars, physical and emotional, no doubt remain for the victims and all who were impacted.
In 2019, Evelyn allowed The Luther Register to publish her journal about the incident.
Read part one here. Answers for My Parents, A Daughter’s Quest
Read part two here. Three Years After Her Parents Death, Daughter Has No Faith in the Justice System
Evelyn doesn’t know how American Monster found the story, but in September she, her sister, and an aunt, agreed to sit for interviews.
“It was very very emotional. I sat in this chair, the most uncomfortable chair ever, for five hours and they had me watch our home videos and explain them. I think I made it through two before being in tears. To sit there and go through all of your childhood memories with all of the trauma of not having them here anymore …”
“They had a good life and everything. The ending is something you wouldn’t think would ever happen. It’s something out of a horror story,” Evelyn said.
Be Big-Hearted, Kind, and Gracious
Evelyn said her parents would have eight great-grandchildren by now, and one of the most tender thoughts she carries is that her parents were buried on her son’s 13th birthday, the one who spent Sunday afternoon with them before that awful night. That hearkens back to words spoken at the funeral.
“Ron and Kay were too young to die. They had much to share. We do not understand why there was a sunset at what was the mid-day of their lives. But we know that God is in control, and that we live in a sin-scarred and sin-fallen world where people needlessly die.”
“Be big-hearted, kind, and gracious and enjoy life. Because we have just one life to live… ”
Pastor Lane Buckley, October 2016
American Monster
The show, Amercian Monster, describes the episode: “Family comes first to grandparents Ron and Kay Wilkson, though they may not have much money, their growing brood always knows how to make their own fun. However, something evil is prowling close to home and not everyone will make it out alive.”
The episode is scheduled to broadcast on Jan. 1, at 8 pm. Direct TV subscribers can find it on channel 285. It can also be streamed through a subscription to Discovery Plus or through Amazon prime.
