On April 29, 23-year-old Shaliyah Toombs, who was seven months pregnant and the mother of two girls, sent a text to her mom that read, “They gonna kill me mom help me.” On May 2, the body of Toombs, who was from Oklahoma City, was found in the back of a pickup truck, The Oklahoman reports.
Tooms was allegedly killed by two White people and a man named Daniel Vazquez, whose background is not known. This is the third killing of a young Black person in the Oklahoma City area by three Whites in the past 30 days. The others were Ramon Smith and Jarron Moreland, both 21.
The Oklahoman reports, Joshua Finkbeiner, 30, and Staci Harjo, 42, arrived at Toombs’ home and accused her of stealing a backpack. Another man named Daniel Vasquez, 33, was already at her home. According to The Oklahoman, “Vasquez said he learned that Toombs had borrowed Harjo’s vehicle, which had the backpack that contained a hard drive belonging to Finkbeiner’s employer. Vasquez told investigators that Finkbeiner and Harjo forced him and Toombs into a pickup at gunpoint and drove to a farm.” At 4:50 a.m., Toombs’ mother reported receiving the text message from her daughter.
Allegedly they drove around and, reports the newspaper, “While they were driving, Finkbeiner began choking Toombs, and continued to do so for ‘about 20 minutes.’ Shortly after, Harjo told Vasquez to “finish her off,” Vasquez told investigators. Vasquez said he checked for a pulse and thought Toombs was dead before he began choking her, according to the affidavit. The three then discussed dumping Toombs’ body in a lake and burning the pickup.”
Vasquez claims Finkbeiner and Harjo were dropped off at unknown location. Finkbeiner gave Vazquez $60 for gas and told him to drive away. “Investigators were alerted to the body, found in a pickup along Interstate 35 near Goldsby, after Daniel Vasquez went to a convenience store and told a Lighthorse police officer that the pickup had run out of gas and there was a body in the back,” reports The Oklahoman.
Vasquez was arrested on a complaint of accessory to a homicide, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Finkbeiner and Harjo were arrested in Arkansas and held on suspicion of first-degree murder. They will be extradited to Oklahoma.
Source: News One