https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...03e2cfb2&ei=50
Oklahoma man convicted of beating and strangling friend to death because he thought he’d summoned Bigfoot to eat him
An Oklahoma man has received a life sentence after he was convicted of murdering a friend he believed had "summoned Bigfoot."
Larry Doil Sanders, 55, was sentenced to life in a state correctional facility without a chance for parole for the killing of Jimmy Knighten in 2022, according to court records.
Sanders was found guilty on one count of first-degree murder connected to Knighten's death at a nonjury bench trial in April, Law & Crime reports.
The Seminole County Sheriff's Office and Pontotoc County Sheriff's Office received calls for a possible homicide on July 10 2022. That ultimately was the day that Knighten's body was discovered.
The deputies, along with the assistance of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, began questioning Sanders, who reportedly confessed that he and Knighten had been friends, but that he had killed him.
According to Sanders, he and Knighten left for a "noodling" trip on July 9 in the South Canadian River when a "confrontation ensued." Sanders reportedly told law enforcement that he hit and strangled Knighten, killing him.
Noodling is a popular fishing method in the US South. Anglers will use their arms as bait, allowing fish — often catfish — to swallow their arms up past their wrists. The anglers then lift the fish out of the water once it’s clamped down onto their arm.................
.....When asked why he killed a man he had reportedly considered a friend, Sanders said was afraid that Knighten had "summoned Bigfoot" to kill and eat him.
“So, his statement was that Mr. Knighten had summoned ‘Bigfoot’ to come and kill him, and that’s why he had to kill Mr. Knighten,” Sheriff John Christian said.
Bigfoot, also known as a Sasquatch, is a mythical human-like creature said to live in the forests of North America.
During his defense trial, Sanders took the stand and revealed that not only did he believe Knighten had powers to summon Bigfoot, but that he actually saw the 12-foot creature standing downstream from him in the river where the men were noodling.