On Thursday evening, a Comanche County jury found a 51-year-old Lawton man guilty of killing his girlfriend but ruled he was not guilty in setting fire to her house in April 2022.
The trial of Anthony DeWayne Boggan began with jury selection in District Judge Jay Walker’s court for felony counts of first-degree murder and first-degree arson.
The jury recommended Boggan spend life in prison for the murder count plus pay $10,000 in fines.
Following testimony and evidence, it ws determined Boggan killed 50-year-old Tonya Harris the night of April 8, 2022. Her severely burned body was discovered inside a fully-engulfed house fire at 906½ SW Summit.
The State Medical Examiner determined she had no smoke in her lungs and it appeared she’d been beaten with a blunt object, according to the probable cause affidavit. Witnesses testified she lived there and had a volatile relationship with her boyfriend, Boggan. There was testimony the couple constantly fought and that Boggan was seen hitting Harris while they walked down the street five days before the murder.
A witness testified that around 4 or 5 p.m. April 8, 2022, she heard the woman again screaming for help before seeing Boggan walk away. She later saw Boggan standing in another yard, staring at Harris’ home before smoke was seen coming from the house.
Security video from a nearby business showed Boggan walking away from the area of the fire minutes before the first 911 call was made, according to the affidavit.
Boggan remains in the Comanche County Detention Center. Following a pre-sentencing investigation, he will be sentenced at 1:45 p.m. May 12.
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