Court docs reveal murder suspect had hole dug in yard days before killing

PAYNE COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) — Law enforcement arrested a second suspect in connection to the murder of a 21-year-old man.

A new arrest warrant for Michael Ritter, 52, outlines why he is now being charged for the death of Samuel Cade Crawford.

Crawford was allegedly killed for his truck back in August, 2023.

According to the warrant, Ritter employed Christopher Somers who is also accused of killing Crawford last August in order to take his truck and sell the parts.

"This is this was a an extremely sad case. You're you're talking about a 21-year-old kid who was murdered," said Hunter Mckee with The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Ritter told investigators that Somers admitted that he brought Crawford to a property owned by Ritter and then shot him in the back of the head "a lot of times" while Crawford looked at a part on another truck to determine if it would fit his.

Court filings state Ritter knew that Somers was hiding some of Crawford's belongings in a freezer at the chop shop located on Ritter's property.

Ritter also claimed Somers told him he got rid of "blood-soaked dirt" and disposed any evidence in a creek that is located between two of Ritter's properties.

"Special agents were able to sit down with Ritter, and based on all of the information that they were able to gathered, Ritter was also arrested," said Mckee.

Ritter denied any involvement, however, four days before Crawford disappeared Ritter paid a neighbor $40 to dig a hole on his property.

Crawford was found buried in that hole.

Ritter was arrested on Tuesday.

He is charged with first degree murder, operating a chop shop and desecration of a human corpse.

Crawford's family sent News 4 a statement following Ritter's arrest:

We are very appreciative of the continued efforts of the law enforcement team working on this investigation.

Cade Crawford, Samuel's father.

Initially, Somers was charged with a single count of first-degree murder, but on Thursday the charges were refiled as first-degree murder, or the alternative of second-degree murder, operating a chop shop and desecration of a human corpse.

According to court documents, Somers could also face the death penalty.