Case continued for Oklahoma man charged in Weleetka slayings

Published: February 22, 2012

OKEMAH (AP) — A judge has issued a continuance in the case of a man accused of fatally shooting two girls in eastern Oklahoma.

photo - Kevin Sweat is escorted to a waiting vehicle after a hearing at the Okfuskee County Courthouse in Okemah, Okla. on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. Sweat is accused of killing Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Whitaker on a dirt road near Weleetka. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World

Kevin Sweat is escorted to a waiting vehicle after a hearing at the Okfuskee County Courthouse in Okemah, Okla. on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. Sweat is accused of killing Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Whitaker on a dirt road near Weleetka. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World

Multimedia

Photoview all photos

Article Gallery: Case continued for Oklahoma man charged in Weleetka slayings

NewsOK Related Articles

Man accused in Weleetka deaths in court
12/14/2011 OKEMAH - Kevin Sweat made his first appearance before a judge Tuesday after being charged last week in the slayings of two Weleetka girls in 2008.

The case of Kevin Sweat was continued Wednesday until April 23 while the prosecution and defense await the completion of a report.

Sweat is charged with first-degree murder in the June 2008 deaths of 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Placker. Prosecutors say they'll seek the death penalty.

Sweat's arrest in December came after a three-year manhunt. Family members discovered them along an unpaved road near Placker's home. They were headed for Bad Creek Bridge to collect shells and pebbles along the river bank.

According to an affidavit, Sweat told an investigator he saw “two monsters come at him” and fired at them with .40- and .22-caliber handguns.