An Oklahoma City woman has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for the murder of her 3-year-old granddaughter, Riley Nolan.
Becky Vreeland, 63, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder. Police found Nolan’s body with “obvious signs of trauma” in a trash can at Vreeland’s home in June 2022. Vreeland admitted to discovering the body days earlier but delaying reporting it.
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Court documents reveal that Vreeland claimed she found Nolan’s body in the trash can, which had been closed despite her leaving it open the night before. She noticed a ladder next to the can that hadn’t been there previously. Vreeland told police she didn’t tell anyone about the death because she was upset and wanted her son to have Father’s Day with his other children before learning about Nolan’s death.
The medical examiner determined Nolan died from blunt force trauma to the head, ruling her death a homicide. Nolan’s siblings reportedly told police they had seen her with a bruise on her forehead.
Vreeland will be eligible for parole after serving 85% of her sentence, which is approximately 38 years. As part of the plea deal, a charge of desecration of a human corpse was dismissed.
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