Inset: Clifton W. Hampton (Rogers County Jail). Background: The home where Hampton allegedly strangled his wife to death (KOTV).
A 50-year-old man in Oklahoma stands accused of murdering his wife, allegedly strangling her after she called him “pathetic” and requested a divorce following 12 years of marriage.
Clifton Wayne Hampton was apprehended last week and faces one count of first-degree murder related to the death of Christina Hampton, as per court records.
According to court documents, around 7:40 a.m. on Oct. 2, investigators from the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office responded to St. Francis Hospital in Vinita regarding a “suspicious death.” Upon arrival, authorities examined the body of Christina Hampton and observed she had “visible injuries, including a nosebleed, scrapes on her knees, and marks on or near her throat.”
Investigators noticed “inconsistencies” in the accounts Clifton Hampton provided to family, medical staff, and law enforcement.
“He appears with an implausible explanation for her death,” Sheriff Scott Walton told Tulsa NBC affiliate KJRH. “Husband arrives at the Craig County hospital with his wife deceased, wrapped in a mattress pad. He offers a story, but we quickly identified flaws in it. We were confident it was indeed a homicide.”
During his initial interview, Clifton Hampton denied any domestic violence but mentioned that his wife stated she wanted a divorce the previous evening, a topic they discussed late into the night. He asserted they later went on a “short drive,” during which his wife supposedly “left the vehicle and headed in a different direction.”
“The defendant stated he found her collapsed and injured on the roadside shortly afterward,” prosecutors wrote in a motion to withhold bond. “Mr. Hampton described a version of events filled with contradictions. On the defendant’s neck, clear scratch marks were visible, which he attributed to ‘roughhousing’ with his 22-year-old son and dog.”
However, a short while later, Clifton Hampton approached investigators and “began making admissions of killing the victim,” prosecutors said.
“The defendant stated that he had previously lied, and that he and the victim had not gone for a drive that morning,” prosecutors wrote. “Instead, the two were in bed after arguing all night, and after the victim told him that he was “pathetic” and that she and her friends made fun of him, Mr. Hampton became humiliated and angry, and choked the victim while she was lying in bed.”
Clifton Hampton then admitted he “had taken things too far,” but claimed his wife’s heart was still beating when he began trying to get her body into a vehicle to transport her to the hospital.
“He further stated that the victim weighed around 160 pounds and was difficult to move since she was ‘dead weight,'” prosecutors wrote. “He stated that he attempted to use a green dolly and a tarp to move her body, but ended up having to drag her. The defendant attributed the victim’s nose injury and knee scrapes to his efforts at dragging her out to the vehicle. He stated that his intention for putting his hands around Christina’s throat was to ‘shut her up.'”
Clifton Hampton is currently being held in the Rogers County Jail without bond. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court on Oct. 9, records show.
