Norman Cleary was executed by the State of Oklahoma for the murder of Wanda Neafus
According to court documents Norman Cleary and an accomplice were looking for a house to rob when they came across a residence where Wanda Neafus worked as a housekeeper. They would force Wanda Neafus around the home at gunpoint to a safe where Wanda did not know the combination and would be fatally shot
Norman Cleary would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Norman Cleary would be executed by lethal injection on February 17 2004
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When Was Norman Cleary Executed
Norman Cleary was executed on February 17 2004
Norman Cleary Case
In his final moments, Norman Richard Cleary expressed his grief to the family of the woman he killed and his love for his family. Cleary, convicted in 1993 for the murder of Tulsa housekeeper Wanda Neafus, was put to death Tuesday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. He died at 6:14 p.m., three minutes after he was given the first of three injections. It was only two days after his 38th birthday.
Cleary’s parents, his sister, two friends and two spiritual advisers attended the execution as witnesses. As they walked into the execution room, the group wiped away tears and tried to contain their sorrow, telling one another, “it’s going to be all right.” “Again, I’d like to apologize to my victim’s family, to tell them how sorry I am for the pain I’ve caused them,” Cleary said in his final statement. “I hope that someday they can forgive me. “For my family, just thank you for loving me. Thank you and God bless you.” As he finished speaking, Cleary turned left to look at his family. Several of the witnesses said, “I love you.”
Cleary sniffled as the injections began and lay motionless with his eyes closed until a doctor pronounced him dead. His family consoled one another by telling each other, “he’s free.” Cleary had also apologized to the family of his victim, Wanda Neafus, and asked their forgiveness at his clemency hearing last week.
Neafus’ family members, who watched from a separate room, chose not to speak with reporters after the execution. Neafus’ sister, Anita Wilson, said days earlier that the family wasn’t prepared for forgiveness. “They say that he has turned his life around and found God, which is wonderful,” said Wilson, 40, of Bixby, “but he has to pay a price here on Earth.” Wilson had said she expected most of Neafus’ family to be at the prison Tuesday.
Neafus was working at a home in the upper-class Maple Ridge neighborhood in Tulsa when Cleary and accomplice Kenneth Chandler arrived. The two men had already knocked on at least two other doors, looking for a home to burglarize. But when Neafus saw a gun fall from Chandler’s coat, the men panicked and plans changed. Cleary, who was 25 years old at the time, led Neafus around the house at gunpoint and finally shot her when she didn’t have the combination to a basement safe. She was found later that Dec. 6, 1991, slumped in a chair. She had been shot five times in the face, neck and head. A medical examiner testified that several of the shots were from close range.
Wilson said she couldn’t understand why anyone would kill her sister, who she remembered as “very, very loving. Sweet as she could be. Wouldn’t hurt nobody for nothing.” The only items the homeowners determined missing were Neafus’ purse and a cane the family had purchased at the Smithsonian Institution.
According to testimony, Chandler fled as Cleary was about to pull the trigger. Chandler was sentenced to life in prison for his role. As his last meal, Cleary requested two foot-long chili-cheese hot-dogs, a large chocolate malt, a large vanilla malt and six pieces of extra-crispy chicken – two breasts, two thighs and two legs.
He was the second person executed by Oklahoma this year. Tyrone Peter Darks was put to death last month for the 1994 shooting death of his ex-wife, Sherry Goodlow. Hung Thanh Le is scheduled to die Feb. 26 and a March 9 execution is scheduled for David Jay Brown.
There were 14 executions in Oklahoma last year. There are currently 92 men and no women on the state’s death row.
