The Murders of Annie Brown and the Pelitis
Annie Brown, Robert Peliti & Jackie Peliti
| Name | Annie Brown |
| Age | 62 |
| From | Midwest City, Oklahoma |
| Date of Death | December 17, 2024 |
Annie Brown was 62 years old, a long-time resident of Midwest City, Oklahoma, known to her neighbors and community as generous and warm. She was the kind of person who made room for people who had nowhere else to go. Her backyard shed had electricity, and she had let people sleep there when they needed a place off the streets. Richard Chambers had been living in that shed for several days before she was killed.
Her neighbor Alexis Okine said: "It's tragic for that to happen to Ms. Annie. I loved her. Loved her. She was like a sister, a big sister, even though she was 62 and I'm only 40. We were like sisters." Brooklyn Williams said Annie was like a grandmother to her, someone who always wanted to hear her play her instrument. Timothy Williams, reflecting on what happened, said: "You've got to be very, very careful about who you allow in your life. He had me fooled. He had Ms. Annie fooled."
| Jackie Born | May 11, 1954 — Oklahoma City, OK |
| Robert Born | July 28, 1939 — Ontario, Canada |
| Married | May 24, 1988 |
| Ages | Jackie 70, Robert 84 |
| Date of Death | December 17–18, 2024 |
Jackie and Robert Peliti had been married since May 24, 1988, after meeting through a mutual friend in 1986. Robert was born in Ontario, Canada, and had retired from General Motors in 2006. Jackie was born in Oklahoma City. In 2023 the couple relocated to Allen, a small community in Pontotoc County, where they were surrounded by a large extended family including children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
They were in their own home when a stranger knocked on their door asking for gas. They opened their door to someone in need, the same impulse that defined Annie Brown's kindness 90 miles away. They were killed for it. Robert was found alive on the couch, covered in blood, and was transported to Ada Mercy Hospital where he died. Jackie was found on the living room floor, deceased. She was 70 years old. Robert was 84.
What We Know
On the evening of December 17, 2024, Richard Dewayne Chambers shot and killed Annie Brown inside her home near Locust Lane and Dogwood Drive in Midwest City. Chambers had been living in a shed on her property for several days. After the murder, he stole her white Lexus and drove south, away from Midwest City. Annie's body would not be found until the following morning, when a welfare check was conducted after her vehicle was identified at another crime scene.
As Chambers drove, he began running low on gas and stopped at multiple homes to ask for help. A concerned citizen called police, and officers encountered Chambers on a roadside. He told them his car had run out of gas and he was seeking help. The officer ran the plate — registered to Annie Brown — but it had not yet been reported stolen. The officer did not request Chambers' identification and allowed him to leave. This encounter was captured on bodycam footage and later became a significant point of scrutiny in the case.
Chambers continued driving and around 10:50 PM pulled into the driveway of a home between Ada and Allen, where a woman was home alone. She said she had no gas but suggested her neighbors might. Uneasy, she called her boyfriend and then watched Chambers drive into Robert and Jackie Peliti's driveway. What happened inside their home in the following minutes is partially reconstructed from what officers found when they arrived and what Robert, still alive, was able to communicate before he died.
How It Unfolded
The Investigation
The investigation spanned multiple Oklahoma jurisdictions and was led by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, with critical participation from the Pontotoc County Sheriff's Office, Midwest City Police Department, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Hughes County Sheriff's Office, and Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police. The case came together rapidly through overlapping pieces: the neighbor's description of the suspect and vehicle, the earlier bodycam footage of the police stop, .22-caliber bullet casings recovered at the Peliti home, and Annie Brown's vehicle — registered to her — found at the Peliti scene. That vehicle identification was what triggered the welfare check that discovered Annie's body.
The police stop on the road between Midwest City and Allen became a significant point of public discussion. Officers had stopped Chambers, the vehicle had been run and was registered to Annie Brown, and he was allowed to leave without his identification being checked. Annie's body had not yet been found and the vehicle had not been reported stolen. The bodycam footage showing Chambers driving away was later released publicly.
OSBI Special Agent Heather Cropper documented the crime scene at the Peliti home in the court affidavit. The motive for the murders was never fully established publicly, though DA Johnson noted that Chambers showed a pattern of deliberate, calculated violence across county lines with what appeared to be a cooling-off period between the first and subsequent murders. Chambers' prior criminal record in Arkansas included robbery, theft, and breaking and entering.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
They Are Not Forgotten
Annie Brown was 62 years old and she was the kind of person who let strangers sleep in her shed when it was cold. She electrified it so it would be warmer. She did not see that as remarkable. Her neighbors saw it clearly. "She was like a sister," one said. "She was like a grandma," said another. She was both. She was someone who made room for people, and a man she made room for killed her in her own home.
Jackie and Robert Peliti had been married for 36 years. Robert retired from General Motors. They moved to Allen in 2023, closer to family. They had grandchildren and great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews who loved them. They opened their door to a stranger who knocked and said he needed help. That act of ordinary human decency cost them their lives. Robert died at the hospital. Jackie died on the floor of their living room.
Three people died in one night because they were generous. The DA who prosecuted the case got to know the families of all three victims over the course of the proceedings and said that through that process he could attest to the love and character of Annie, Robert, and Jackie. He was right to say it. They deserved better than what happened to them. Annie Brown, Robert Peliti, and Jackie Peliti are not forgotten.