Decoding Ritualistic Murder | The Cases of Pastor Carol Daniels & Pastor Bill

In this episode of Unseen Witness, we dive into one of the most misunderstood crime scenes in modern Christian true crime: the brutal, unsolved murder of Pastor Carol Daniels inside her small Oklahoma church in 2009. Her body was discovered staged behind the pulpit, a detail that fueled years of speculation about ritualistic intent, symbolic desecration, or calculated misdirection.

Using forensic psychology, crime scene analysis, and verified reporting, we examine what is known about Carol’s murder: the staging, the chemical cleanup, the lack of forced entry, and the troubling precision of the attacker. Then, to understand whether her killing carried ritualistic meaning or merely appeared that way, we compare her case with two others:

Pastor Bill Schonemann, murdered in 2025 by Adam Shaafe in an explicitly religious, ideologically motivated “crucifixion”: a verified ritual killing.
And the Great Basin murders, where a victim’s cruciform positioning was later proven to be the result of decomposition and terrain, not ritual intent.

Through these cases, we explore how investigators distinguish staging, posing, and true ritualistic crime, and where Carol’s case sits uncomfortably between all three.

This episode seeks truth, honors Pastor Carol’s life, and calls for clarity, prayer, and justice.

Transcript

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On Sunday morning, August 23rd, 2009, 61 year old pastor Carol Daniels made her usual drive to the Worthy Temple Christian Church in Anadarko, Oklahoma. A small weathered chapel she had faithfully served for nearly ten years. The morning was quiet a few noticed her car pull up beside the church. Less than two hours later, the building would be sealed off by police tape. Inside, Carol's mutilated body was found behind the pulpit of the locked sanctuary. A brutal scene that would shock the town and baffled investigators for years. Oh, and don't forget to subscribe and review and comment because it really, really helps me out. Now let's open the case file. Carol Faye Dunlap Daniels was born on October 26th, 1947, in Oklahoma City. She had three siblings, all who also grew up in Oklahoma City. Carol Daniels graduated from Douglas High School in 1965, and soon left to attend a college in Texas. I believe it was Dallas, Texas. Eventually, she returned home to finish her studies, earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology from Central State University in Edmond in 1971, that same year, she married a man named Alvin L Daniels Jr. And together they raised five children, three sons and two daughters. The couple later moved to Spokane, Washington area, where they built their family for several years before returning to Oklahoma in 1978. Back in her home state, Carol continued to pursue education, working towards a master's degree and earning an additional associate's degree. Yet as she entered her middle age, her true calling began to take shape. Her faith. In 1990, Carol Daniels was ordained through the Christ Holy Sanctified Church's ministry and became an active member of the Holy Temple Church in Oklahoma City. For the next decade, she dedicated herself to ministry work until 2001, when she was appointed pastor of Worthy Temple Christian Church in Anadarko, a small town of roughly 5500 residents located about 60 miles south west of Oklahoma City. Worthy temple stood near one of Anadarko's tougher neighborhoods and served predominantly minority congregation made up of largely Native Americans and African American families. For a while, Worthy Temple seemed to be doing well. The church itself was a modest white, wooden church with a small wooden cross out front. Sitting on a quiet corner. Pastor Carol continued living in Oklahoma City, but she would make the hour and a half drive to Anadarko every single week, faithfully opening the doors for worship. Most Sundays, only a handful of elderly residents attended. When attendance eventually dwindled and regular services stopped, Carol continued making the long trip anyways. Unlocking the doors, tightening the pews and waiting in case anyone decided to come by and pray, which I sit in about an hour and a half traffic every single time I have to go to my office for work, because that is just how traffic works. And I have to do it because I have to do it. Can you imagine someone's heart posture that they will do an hour and a half drive just in case someone wants to come hear the Word of God? That is amazing, and I don't think that gets enough credit when we discuss these victims, their hearts and their souls, when they're dedicated to the Lord. I just I love it so much. beyond her Sunday trips to Anadarko. Carol remained active with the Christ Holy Sanctified Church organization, serving as Secretary treasurer for Oklahoma District. At home, she was a devoted mother and grandmother. Her son Alvin shared that his mother was quote unquote, always joking with us, always taking care of us. She'd give you her last dollar even if she didn't have it. A very loving mother. I couldn't ask for a better mother. By all accounts. Sunday, August 23rd, 2009 began like any other. Carol woke up early in Oklahoma City, prepared her sermon, and started the familiar long drive southwest to Anadarko. It was a trip she had made countless times over nearly a decade, a quiet ritual of faith and devotion. But that morning would sadly be different. Surveillance footage from a convenience store across the street shows Carol's vehicle pulling into the church parking lot at around 10 a.m.. Inside, she likely began her usual Sunday preparations tidying the sanctuary, unlocking doors, arranging materials and readying herself for worship. About an hour and 40 minutes later, which was around 11:40 a.m.. Retired Bishop Silky Wilson Jr and his wife Julie arrived for a scheduled meeting with her. They saw her car parked outside, but when they tried the front doors, they were locked. Something they found unusual for a Sunday morning. The couple knocked repeatedly, peering through the windows, and even drove around to the back to honk the horn, but there was no response. Concerned, the couple drove straight to the Anadarko Police Department to report that something wasn't right. Roughly 20 minutes later, around noon, Officer Ashley Burris was dispatched to the Worthy Temple. Officer Ashley entered the building through a side door

at approximately 12: 5:52

04 p.m. and immediately discovered pastor Carol Daniels body behind the pulpit in the sanctuary. Before I continue a brief warning, the details are about to get gruesome, so if you would rather skip this part, I suggest fast forwarding a few minutes. Media accounts and later case summaries describe this scene as one of the most brutal in Oklahoma history. Carol's body was found nude, lying in a pool of her own blood. Her hair had been burned, and investigators later confirmed that a chemical which was never publicly released had been poured all over her body, likely to destroy DNA evidence. The autopsy report, later summarized by officials, found the following. Multiple sharp force injuries, including deep incisions to the neck, so severe that she was nearly decapitated. Cuts across her chest, back and arms, along with defensive wounds all over her hands, burns to her scalp and hair likely inflicted during or shortly after the attack. Mutilation of her left breast, though there was no evidence of s*xual assault, so people did find this particularly weird. Multiple investigators and secondary reports later confirmed that her body appeared to have been deliberately, deliberately staged. That's a hard word. It was laid out behind the pulpit, with her arms extended in a cruciform position. At the scene. There was no signs of forced entry, no destruction, and nothing of clear value appeared to be missing. Some later reports claimed that her purse and briefcase were gone, But that detail has never been corroborated by primary sources. What has been confirmed, however, is that the body was deliberately arranged, the crime scene meticulously cleaned, and a chemical used to erase DNA was used Honestly, this is a quick side note, but I get so excited to use big words when I'm scripting out my script and then my accent and lisp when I'm trying to pronounce these words does not corroborate with it. So I am so sorry that I'm trying to use words way beyond my reach. So. But maybe this is good practice. Who knows? Okay, back to the back to the case. The church is front and back doors for both locked when police arrived. The surveillance video captured Carol's arriving and unlocking of the front door herself, but no one else was seen entering afterward. Unfortunately, there was no cameras covering the side or back entrances, which is where investigators believe the perpetrator may have entered if they weren't inside of the church before Carol arrived. With little to. No usable DNA. No footage of the intruder, and no eyewitnesses. The case quickly became, what, one investigator later called a nightmare. Dozens of DNA samples were collected, and interviewers conducted multiple interviews, but no definitive suspect emerged over time. Attention focused on 55 year old Denise Kay Darnell Cooper, who became the primary suspect And 2017 Oklahoma's Multi-County grand jury revealed that investigators were examining Cooper, and possibly an unnamed accomplice, regarding a potential robbery turned homicide. Cooper had prior conviction for meth distribution and assault with a dangerous weapon, suggesting a capacity for violence, but she died of cancer before any charges were filed, leaving the case open. that theory raises a lot of questions. Why would someone planning a robbery choose a small, struggling church with almost no money on site? Where the temple wasn't a megachurch, it was a single room chapel with worn pews, a small pulpit, and a congregation made up mostly of elderly residents from nearby nursing homes. church itself wasn't known to keep collections or valuables there during the week. Either way. Even more troubling is how methodical the killer seemed to be. Whoever did this not only had to overpower a 61 year old woman, but then had to take the time to clean the scene. And when I say had to overpower a 61 year old woman, I'm not saying because it's so, like, difficult. I'm saying that because imagine how evil you have to be, that you're targeting a 61 year old older lady. And beyond that, they cleaned the scene, burned her hair, and poured a chemical substance all over her body, which in my opinion is a process to suggest calculation and not panic. that kind of procession takes time and composure. It's not what you expect from a quick robbery or a drug related outburst. Investigators also said that the crime scene appeared, quote unquote, meticulously, meticulously cleaned, meaning the surfaces were wiped down and potential evidence intentionally removed, which is not the typical behavior for a thief looking for a quick grab and go, especially someone with a history of meth usage. It suggests someone who either understood forensic procedures or had enough criminal experience to know how to avoid leaving a trace, evidence or even more chillingly, a well prepared and calculated killer. Then there's the symbolic element the staging of Carroll's body, with her arms outstretched, laid behind the pulpit of her own church, adding a layer that feels personal and even ritualistic. If the killer's only goal was money, why take the time to arrange her body in such a deliberate way? Why make it look like a message? So. Yes. Well, I'm not saying investigators should rule out robbery entirely. The facts don't quite add up. There's a difference between a messy crime of opportunity and a carefully executed act meant to send a statement. Given Cooper's past of getting caught, multiple times for different crimes, she doesn't sound like someone who all of a sudden could commit such a precise and sadistic crime. It's possible, sure, but not particularly convincing. am curious to hear your thoughts on this. Obviously, we're going to continue going down this rabbit hole in just a second, but I am curious as of right now, at this moment, do you believe that it was, what was her name? Cooper. Do you believe it was Cooper who did this with an assailant that was unnamed and broke into the church looking for money for a quick grab and go? Or do you think that this points to something that wouldn't really mix with her past and her criminal activity? Or for someone who has a drug addiction trying to get quick money? Let me know. I'm curious. Okay, now that we've gone through the details, let's talk about why some people believe that Carroll's case carries religious or ritualistic undertones as well as why it might not. And I'm going to give you a few examples of different cases so that we can kind of go through them and contrast and compare. so for starters, we know that Osbi spokeswoman Jessica Brown confirmed that the body was staged, the question becomes, Was Carroll's positioning symbolic, or was it simply part of the killer's attempt to shock, mislead, or erase evidence? us to be able to better answer this question, we need to review some terms and their meaning. So we're about to take a little bit of a forensics class. Okay. Staging in forensic psychology means a deliberate alteration of the crime scene. It's not for worship, but for control or misdirection. It's when a killer changes something after the fact simply to confuse investigators, humiliate a victim, or project dominance. Now, posing is when a shift serves a fantasy, an emotional or psychological need, which is not a practical deception. Now, ritualistic crimes go a step further from this. They're expressing a belief system. The killers. they aren't about hiding evidence, but about conveying a message or fulfilling a symbolic purpose. As criminal profiler Vernon Geberth explains, not every staged crime is ritualistic ritual crimes carry belief, staged crimes carry manipulation. So hopefully that gives you an insight on the difference. So in Carroll's case, we're not just asking what happened or asking why did it look the way that it did? So to further dissect this Number one, she was found behind the pulpit, which is seen as the heart of her ministry, the symbolic space of proclaiming the Word of God. That placement alone can carry two very possible meanings. symbolic desecration. The killer chose that location to mock faith, defile a sacred space, or send an anti-Christian message. Situational reality. It could simply be where she was attacked, fell, or tried to defend herself. Number two murder location being a church, the fact that the murder occurred inside of a church intensifies those questions. If the killer intentionally violated a sacred space, it could represent an act of symbolic rebellion and assault, not just on Carol, but on what she stood for. But the church could also have been chosen for a practical reason. I mean, it is isolated, quiet, predictable and unlocked every Sunday morning. Again, symbolism and opportunity overlap. And that's what makes cases like this so hard to categorize. understand where Carroll's case is fit, it helps to compare it with crimes with similar symbolism attached. One intentional and one accidental. For example, and new River, Arizona Pastor William Bill Schonemann was murdered this year, 2025, by a man named Adam Sheafe. Sheafe’s motive according to his own words and his own confession was purely theological. He rejected the new Testament, denied the Trinity, and believed pastors were deceiving their believers. he built what he called Operation First Commandment, and he crafted a crown out of thorns. He nailed the victim in a cruciform pose to the wall, by the way, and attached a strap that read, you shall have no other gods before me on one side, and the tribe of Benjamin on the other side. He later confessed that he was planning on going after 13 other Christian pastors or priests, totaling 14 victims. So clearly this case defines a ritualistic murder. Since ideology, symbolism, confession and act aligned perfectly to be exactly that. Now, in contrast, let's compare that to the Great Basin Murders, where one victim, Patricia Candice Walsh, was discovered lying face up with arms outstretched. Newspapers called it crucifix like, but forensic reconstruction later revealed that the positioning came from decomposition and shifting terrain, not an intent. The cross shape in this case was an accident, not ceremonial. So given the two comparative cases, I think it is fair to say that Carol’s case it uncomfortably between those two pulls, one that could be very much ritualistic, and the other one which could have been just an accident that fed into the environment. I mean, like we said multiple times, she was found in a sacred space or arranged in a deliberate position, and her body was cleansed of evidence, which are all signs of that position and control. But considering that this case is unsolved, there was no message left, no confession was made, and no ideology surfaced. We have staging without the doctrines, and then no other cases around the area that were similar. And I did try to find some, but if they did occur out of precaution to not cause or induce another satanic panic, the authorities would have probably kept to themselves. So it was really hard for me to find a record of any area surrounding that Oklahoma spot where any other pastors or priests were killed and left in that formation. So in that uncertainty lies its power. This is what separates Carroll's case from both the sensational and the solved. So, in conclusion, to call it ritualistic, without proof, risk distortion, but to ignore the religious undertones would be to dismiss what makes this case so incredibly haunting, in case it were ritualistic. Before we close, I want to take a moment to remember Pastor Carroll, her family, and everyone still carrying the pain of this case. Today, I pray for peace for her soul, for comfort and strength, for her loved ones, and even for the person who did this that they find remorse, repentance, and the courage to come forward. If they're able to do so. I chose to share Carol's story because her faith, her dedication, and her compassion deserve to be remembered, not forgotten, in some cold case files. What happened inside that small town church wasn't just an act of violence. It was an attack on goodness itself. thank you so much for being here with me. I appreciate you, I appreciate it, I appreciate you, Please do not forget to subscribe. Please do not forget to follow and share and review. If you're on the audio podcast. I saw the sweetest freaking review. You can leave me. Let me let me share this with you real quick. so on November 17th, 2025, Tio Chewy wrote quote I found out about this new podcast from a TikTok video by narrator me. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the Catholic's perspective. You can feel the narrator's passion on topics. I'm a fan and look forward to more content. The name of the podcast is perfect and quote isn't that so nice? So please guys, please if you enjoyed my content review, like and share. I know I'm being annoying, but please do so and I will see you next week where I believe I'm going to be possibly sharing some kind of case file that has to do with an exorcism or a tale. And before you get all weird with me, if I'm covering exorcism cases, you guys, if we put the glory on the Lord and we keep in mind the evils that lurk in today, it is good to be wary of these. Like to be aware of these cases and be wary of evil and how God triumphs these evils. So please. Okay, enjoy those episodes. Okay. But anyway. Okay, I'll see you next time.