In 1978, when the killings occurred, she was married to Roger Dale Stafford. Her brother-in-law was Harold Stafford, who died in a motorcycle accident a week after the steakhouse slayings.

Verna Stafford pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for helping the state prosecute Roger. She is currently serving two consecutive life sentences.

In May, she was denied parole.

An investigative report to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board includes details from an interview with her that took place on March 18.

Here’s her account of what happened:

“OFFENDER’S VERSION OF INSTANT OFFENSE:

“Admits guilt in both cases. … In the McClain County case (Lorenz family), subject pretended to be a stranded motorist while Roger and his brother hid. A family stopped and the man tried to help her start the car. Roger asked the man for money and he offered $20, explaining that it was all he could afford, and Roger got angry and shot him. The man’s wife got out of the car, became hysterical when she saw her husband and tried to hit subject. She blocked the blow and Roger shot the woman. They moved the bodies into a ditch, then Roger heard a noise in the back of the victims’ pickup. He shot into the pickup, then brought out the body of a child and took him down the embankment. Roger took the victims’ pickup and subject and her brother-in-law left in the car. Approximately 3 weeks later, she, Roger, and his brother robbed a restaurant (Sirloin Stockade) in Oklahoma City. They took the employees to the office and Roger got the money … and gave it to her. She suggested they put the employees in the meat locker, thinking that this would give them time to get away and keep the employees, but the manager kept saying they would get caught and he would tell on them. This infuriated Roger, and he and his brother began shooting the employees. He told subject that she was going to be part of it, put his gun in her hand and, with his hand over hers, pulled the trigger once. She pled guilty to the murder of the female victim in McClain County and one victim in Oklahoma County.”

I’m not a native Oklahoman. I grew up in the northeast and moved around the world a few times before getting hired by The Oklahoman as a crime writer about nine years ago.

I think I heard about the Sirloin Stockade murders my first week on the job — even though they’d happened more than two decades earlier.

A few Oklahoma crimes seem to remain on everyone’s radar here: the Oklahoma City bombing, the Edmond post office massacre and — of course — the steakhouse murders, which occurred 30 years ago today. (See the story on NewsOK.com.)

What do you remember about the slayings?