LINDA CANTRELL

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The daughter of a Depew couple slain in 2003 was killed in an apparent murder-suicide early Wednesday.

The bodies of Linda Cantrell, 43, and her boyfriend, Fred Wheeler, 49, were found in his northwest Oklahoma City residence about 1 a.m., said Debra Wyatt, Cantrell's sister.

The deaths came five days before the scheduled jury trial in El Reno for Scott Eizember, who is accused of killing Cantrell's parents.

Eizember, 44, is charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 18, 2003 beating death of A.J. Cantrell, 76, and the shooting death of his wife, Patsy Cantrell, 70, both of Depew.

"I just don't know how much we're supposed to endure," said Wyatt, noting that she had to be sedated at a hospital Wednesday because she couldn't breathe. "I don't know how much that I can take."

The trial is expected to start Monday as scheduled, Creek County District Judge Joe Sam Vassar said. Vassar granted the change of venue from Bristow because of extensive pretrial publicity.

"We don't want them to postpone it," said Wyatt, who lives in Fairview. "We want to get that trial behind us. We'll probably bury our sister in the meantime."

At 12:56 a.m. Wednesday, Oklahoma City police received a 911 call from a woman who said her ex-husband had just called her, saying that he had just killed his girlfirnd and that he was going to kill himself, Police Capt. Jeff Becker said.

The woman heard what she believed was a gunshot, followed by silence, Becker said. Police officers were dispatched to the 4100 block of Northwest 23rd Street, where they found two people who had died of gunshot wounds, he said.

Police didn't imediately release the identity of the pair.

"She was just a sweet, bright girl," Wyatt said. "She had so much potential. She was smart. She had a big heart. I don't know what happened."

Linda Cantrell met Wheeler, formerly of Depew, at the auction for the Cantrells' estate last October in Depew, Wyatt said. The two began to date and Linda Cantrell later moved in with Wheeler in Oklahoma City, her sister said.

Wheeler also had accompanied Linda Cantrell to pretrial hearings for Eizember, Wyatt said.

"We thought everything was wonderful," she said.

Wyatt said she last spoke to Linda about 10 p.m. Tuesday.

"He had heated her something to eat and everything was fine," her sister said. "What happened between 10 and 1, I don't know. But something did."

"I believe I even told her I was glad she had Freddie in her life now. You never know what's really going on, and evidently we didn't know."

The youngest of three siblings, Linda Cantrell married twice but had no children, Wyatt said. Although she hadn't worked in several years, she previously held jobs at car dealerships and at a cable television network selling advertising, Wyatt said.

The elder Cantrells were neighbors of John and Karla Wright, who live across the street.

John Wright was Linda Cantrell's former high school math teacher. As she grew older, Wright would see her when she trekked to her parents on special occasions and holidays, he said.

"It just shocked us to no end," Wright said of the death. "It's unbelievable. I still can't get it in my head that it's happened."

Eizember also is charged with shooting with an intent to kill in an attack on Tyler Montgomery, then 16, and assualt with a dangerous weapon against Karla Wright, Montgomery's grandmother.

Depew High School Principal Bruce McKinzie spoke at the Cantrell couple's funeral.

"Her maother and dad were raised around my mother and dad," he said. "I've known them my whole life, just like about everybody down here does.

"It's terrible. Their trial starts next week and they have this to deal with now. It's just a bad, bad deal."

Rhett Morgan 581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com

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