Murder charges dropped for Stephens County man

DUNCAN — The second trial of a man accused of killing his father in 2012 and faking it to look like a suicide has been dismissed without prejudice due to an unspecified medical condition of the suspect.

The first-degree murder trial for James Kyle Brooks, 43, had been scheduled to begin Monday in Stephens County District Court. The district attorney’s office requested and received an order to dismiss the count without prejudice due to Brooks’ unspecified medical condition, contending he is not expected to recover in a reasonable period of time. Charges were originally filed in March 2018.

Charges dismissed without prejudice may be filed again at a future date.

An October 2019 jury trial ended with a hung jury resulting in mistrial, records indicate.

Investigators believe Brooks was motivated to kill for a $500,000 insurance policy taken out without his father’s knowledge, according to investigators.

Marlow police were called by Brooks on Aug. 8, 2012, on the report his father, Timothy, had shot himself at his home, the probable cause affidavit states. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) was called to investigate after Brooks’ story did not match evidence at the scene.

Timothy Brooks was found sitting in a chair, clad only in shorts, and had suffered a gunshot wound to his upper abdomen. There was a 12-gauge shotgun with the muzzle pointing upward located between his legs, the affidavit states. Investigators said James Brooks picked up the shotgun before following orders to put it down.

Brooks told investigators he went to his father’s house and said his father began “talking crazy talk” while reloading a shotgun and threatened to shoot himself, according to the affidavit. He said that after about 20 minutes, he lifted the gun and said “watch this” before he shot himself in the abdomen.

In December 2016, investigators learned Brooks’ father had a $500,000 life insurance policy with his son the only beneficiary. Brooks was eventually paid the value of the $500,000 policy as well as a check for $8,000 for interest and another $2,000 as repayment of premiums paid after his father’s death, the affidavit states.

Timothy Brooks’ death ruling as suicide had been disputed by the State Medical Examiner’s autopsy report and the manner of death was listed as undetermined. Medical Examiner Dr. Marc Harrison described to investigators how Brooks told them his father fired the gun and he didn’t believe it was possible to have happened in that manner with the shotgun, according to the affidavit.

Brooks had been in jail and held on no bond since his initial court appearance on March 22, 2018. After posting an ordered $400,000 bond, he was freed two months later.

Brooks has been allowed to leave the state for various trips, according to court records.