The Life of a Murder

Rebecca Abbott Doisy was a student at the University of Missouri in Columbia. On August 5, 1976, she mysteriously disappeared. "Becky" was last seen with Johnny Wright. The cops had their eye on Wright, but there wasn't enough evidence to turn the corner on a murder warrant. Then, nine years later, William Simmons got busted for an unrelated matter in St. Louis. Fearing he might be going back to prison, Simmons "offered" what he knew about that "St. Louis girl who went missing in Columbia in 1976." The evidence tumbled like dominoes, and a warrant was issued for Johnny Wright. In 2009, twenty-four years later, Wright was arrested in Lawrenceville, Georgia. For a new job, he had run a records check on himself. When Wright returned for his report, the cops were waiting for him. He paid fifteen dollars to get arrested for murder. Wright was returned to Missouri. On January 25, 2011, thirty-five years after Becky Doisy disappeared, Wright's jury trial for her murder began. Judge Gary Oxenhandler presided. Born in 1946, Gary Oxenhandler was raised in St. Louis. He began Law School in 1968 at the University of Missouri - Columbia. Drafted, he served in the Army in 1969 and 1970 and upon his Honorable Discharge, Gary returned to Law School and obtained his Juris Doctor Degree in 1973. For twenty-nine years, Gary practiced law with best 4th Grade buddy, Marvin Tofle, and was later joined by every lawyer's dream partner, his son, Josh.