A 48-year-old man in Oklahoma will spend the remainder of his days behind bars after he was convicted on 10 felony charges for kidnapping a mother and subjecting her to abhorrent torture and abuse. District Court Judge Michelle L. Keely on Monday ordered Patrick D. Medlin to serve three life sentences for the spate of “atrocities” he committed, prosecutors confirmed to Law&Crime.
A Tulsa County jury in September found Medlin guilty on two counts each of first-degree rape by instrumentation and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, as well as one count each of maiming, sexual battery, kidnapping, child neglect, and possession of child pornography.
Patrick D. Medlin (Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office)
“Sexual assault cases are often challenging and come with unique hurdles,” Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Ashley Nix said in a statement after Medlin was convicted. “The evidence of this case was difficult to hear and we are grateful for the jury’s thoughtfulness and attentiveness throughout the trial. We hope the justice brought in this case helps the victim heal as she moves forward with her life.”
Specifically, Judge Keely handed down sentences of life in prison without the possibility for parole for each of the two counts of rape by instrumentation against Medlin, as well as a life sentence for the single charge of maiming, with all three of those sentences to run consecutively, meaning one after the other.
Under Oklahoma law, maiming is when an individual with “premeditated design to injure another” inflicts upon that person “any injury which disfigures his personal appearance or disables any member or organ of his body or seriously diminishes his physical vigor.”
Read Related Also: Yes, the South Has a Poverty Crisis
In addition to the three consecutive life sentences, Medlin was sentenced to more than 100 more years on the remaining charges and ordered to pay a fine of $28,700. The court’s formal sentence followed the recommended sentence put forth by jurors after they convicted Medlin.
Officers with the Skiatook Police Department in April 2020 responded to a phone call reporting that a woman had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted at a residence located in the 100 block of E. Pine, which is about 15 miles north of Tulsa. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders found Medlin and the victim, arresting the former and transporting the latter to a hospital for treatment of her numerous injuries.
The child neglect charge stemmed from Medlin exposing the victim’s 13-year-old son to his unlawful activities, Tulsa Fox affiliate KOKI reported.
The case did not go to trial until September 2023 due to multiple delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a news release from the district attorney’s office, the evidence provided during the trial showed that Medlin, among other things, “zip tied, raped, and assaulted the victim on April 25, 2020.” Prosecutors said they were also able to establish that Medlin “used a baseball bat, alligator clips, a hammer and pliers on the victim” to inflict horrific physical and emotional suffering.
“This was a heinous crime that caused unimaginable mental and physical pain on the victim,” Assistant DA Leyna Churchill said in a statement. “We are grateful the jury held Mr. Medlin accountable for the atrocities he committed. It took a long time to get here, but we believe justice was achieved.”
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
