Osage County DA Wants OSBI To Review Cold Case Murder Evidence

Joanne Goodwin's family thought they had all their answers last summer when they saw Cherri Miller walk into the doors of the Osage County Jail.

Friday, March 15th 2019, 11:09 pm

By: Amy Avery

Osage County DA Wants OSBI To Review Cold Case Murder Evidence

An Osage County cold case will soon be getting a fresh set of eyes.

The TV show, Cold Justice, recently helped investigators connect a suspect to Joanne Goodwin's murder and make an arrest.

Now the district attorney wants the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to review the evidence to make sure they have the strongest case possible.

Joanne Goodwin's family thought they had all their answers last summer when they saw Cherri Miller walk into the doors of the Osage County Jail.

Bobby Neighbors was 7 months old when his mom, Joanne Goodwin, disappeared.

A few days later, her body was found along Bird Creek in Osage County.

Bobby started searching for answers when he was 13 and since then, he hasn't stopped working to get justice.

"I'm 23 now so it's going to take time and patience, but I have no doubts about it," said Joanne Goodwin’s son, Bobby Neighbors.

Cherri Miller was booked into the Osage County Jail in July of last year, and the family was so relieved to finally have some answers.

“I’m confident in it. When she walked in, I was confident in it, and at the moment I’m still confident in it,” said Neighbors.

Investigators say Miller was familiar to them as a suspect throughout the years, but they didn’t have enough evidence to make the arrest until the TV Show Cold Justice stepped in to help provide resources to re-interview witnesses.

“Personally, I’m confident in the case. I think we have enough to get a conviction. She’s been caught lie on lie after another lie, and I don’t think there’s any way that you could convince 12 jurors that she’s telling the truth in any way,” said Neighbors.

Osage County District Attorney Mike Fisher considered their evidence, but says he wants another agency to review it to make sure they have a strong case against Miller.

“We have some concerns at this point on whether we have sufficient evidence that we could prove to a jury the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Osage County District Attorney Mike Fischer.

District Attorney Mike Fisher says they are asking OSBI’s Cold Case Team to investigate the case because they want to make sure they get it right in order to get Justice for Joanne.

“We get one chance and one chance only and for that reason I want to make sure that we have all the evidence that we need to be successful to prosecute this case to make sure we have the correct person charged and make sure we get justice for the family,” said Fisher.

“It may take a little bit more time, but I think this is a smart decision at the moment,” said Neighbors. “Be patient Mom, We’re hanging with you.”

Osage County District Attorney Mike Fisher says he is meeting with the OSBI cold case team next week to start discussing this case.

","published":"2019-03-16T04:09:16.000Z","updated":"2019-03-16T04:09:17.000Z","summary":"Joanne Goodwin's family thought they had all their answers last summer when they saw Cherri Miller walk into the doors of the Osage County Jail.","affiliate":{"_id":"5c784a0c4961cb23ad330098","callSign":"kotv","origin":"https://www.newson6.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-02-01T19:00:58.266Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-31T19:30:04.815Z","__v":9,"breakingNews":[],"entities":[{"_id":"6246013c6880e45323dfde81","text":"Joanne Goodwin","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6246013c6880e45323dfde57","text":"Cherri Miller","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6246013c6880e45323dfde82","text":"Bobby Neighbors","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421c846880e45323a61e78","text":"Osage County","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"624221ef6880e45323afb38c","text":"Bird Creek","type":"LOCATION","__v":0}],"hasBeenCheckedForEntities":true,"openInNewWindow":false,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e35caea2f69d76f62014c3f/osage-county-da-wants-osbi-to-review-cold-case-murder-evidence","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e35caea2f69d76f62014c3f"};