Where is Lori Farmer’s Friend ‘Sheryl Stokes’ Now? – Three young children were brutally murdered at an Oklahoma campground in June 1977. Lori Farmer, Doris Milner, and Michele Guse were discovered dead in their sleeping bags near their tent. Although the investigation led to Gene Leroy “Sonny” Hart, he has acquitted of the triple murder.
‘Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders,’ a Hulu documentary, examines the sad case through the eyes of people who were closest to it. Sheryl Stokes, Lori’s childhood friend, is one of them, and what happened at the campsite had a significant impact on her life. Let’s find out where she is right now.
Must Read: Oklahoma Girl Camp Scout Murders – Full Story
Sheryl Stokes, Who is She?
Lori Stokes grew up on the same block as Sheryl Stokes in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Back in high school, the girls were good friends and classmates. Sheryl was just 8 years old at the time of the occurrence and recalled hearing about it for the first time. “I remember hearing Lori’s name over and over and thinking to myself, ‘This can’t be our Lori,” Sheryl continued. All the families broke my heart.”
On June 13, 1977, Lori, Doris, and Michele were murdered in the dark of night. They were left in their sleeping bags outside their tent, and the gruesome scene was littered with the killer’s evidence. Sonny, a convicted rapist whose mother lived near the campsite, was eventually targeted by the authorities. Despite the fact that the detectives were certain of his guilt, the jury found him not guilty of the three killings.
Sheryl was devastated by Lori’s death. “I watched the sorrow it caused the family and the community,” she explained. Around was no one there to assist us at the time. We simply had to find it out for ourselves.” However, thanks to the victims’ families, the matter has remained in the forefront.
Sheryl worried in 2018 if anyone would ever figure out who was behind the murders. Her questions were answered in May 2022, when DNA testing findings revealed that Sonny was indeed connected to the murders and could not be ruled out.
A girl scout group was attending Camp Scott . A gruesome discovery was made when three girl scouts were found murdered. #truecrime #Murdered #truecrimepodcast #truecrimecommunity #girlscoutmurders #oklahomagirlscoutmurders #ssdgm pic.twitter.com/CihaKLcomj
— DidNotNeedToKnow (@DNNTKpodcast) May 23, 2022
What Happened to Sheryl Stokes and Where Is She Now?
Sheryl decided at a young age, after losing Lori and seeing how it affected everyone around her, that she wanted to be a champion for victims and their families. “I wanted to make sure families weren’t alone… through one of the most terrible and isolating moments in their lives,” she explained.
She worked as a Forensic Interviewer and Psychotherapist at a child advocacy centre in Georgia after earning a Master’s and Educational Specialist degree in Professional Counseling and Traumatology in 2006. Sheryl has worked as a Senior Family Advocacy Specialist at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia, for the past 12 years.
Her role includes collaborating with law enforcement to give crisis intervention, emotional support, and other sorts of aid to families of children who have gone missing and have been sexually exploited. Sheryl has also volunteered with the Red Cross and participated in church missions in the past. She also assisted in the re-testing of evidence in the Girl Scout murders.
