Man Accused In Tulsa Woman's 2011 Murder Acquitted Of All Charges

A man accused in the 2011 murder of a Tulsa woman was acquitted of all charges Friday.

Demarco Page was on trial for the shooting death of 20-year-old Bryshell Downing.

Demarco Page didn't pull the trigger. His cousin C.C. Johnson was convicted of that last summer, but Page was driving the car when Johnson fired over a dozen shots, and the victim's father said he thinks that makes Page just as guilty.

"That was a lot to swallow, innocent on all accounts?" Ronnie Downing said.

The verdict was read Friday afternoon: not guilty. And Downing said he still can't believe the outcome.

"Do I think it's fair? No. Do I believe in the justice system? I believe the DA done a good job, and as far as us getting the verdict we deserved, I don't think we did," he said.

3/28/2011 Related Story: Family: Tulsa Woman Killed In Retaliation For February Shooting

Downing's daughter, Bryshell, was gunned down in February 2011.

She was in a car with her sister, her niece - 2 years old at the time - and cousin. The women had agreed to go to a hotel room with three men. But Bryshell's sister, Brytne, said the women got a bad feeling about the situation and left.

Police say the guys chased them down and opened fire. Then, the men drove to Muskogee.

"This guy just emptied a clip on a car full of girls. He claims he was scared, but I don't believe that C.C. would have harmed him. They were first cousins," Downing said.

The family told News On 6 in 2011 that Bryshell had been a witness in a separate murder case. Bryshell reportedly told investigators that she was assaulted by a man named John Page. When her boyfriend, DeJuan Davis, confronted John Page about the assault, he shot at him, accidentally hitting and killing John Page's sister.

After Demarco Page was arrested, though police hadn't determined whether Demarco Page had any relation to John Page, the family said they believed Bryshell was killed in retaliation for that murder.

Demarco Page's attorney said it was a coincidence that his client and John Page had the last name, and that they were not related.

C.C. Johnson, the man who pulled the trigger, was found guilty of murder and three counts of shooting with intent to kill in June 2012. He received a life sentence without the possibility of parole, plus 50 years.

A third man who investigators said was in the back seat, John Thompson, was charged with accessory after the fact, but the charge against him was dismissed late last year.

1/14/2013 Related Story: Father Of Murdered Tulsa Woman 'Disappointed' After DA Drops Accessory Charges

Demarco Page, faced one count of first degree murder and three counts of shooting with intent to kill, but he was acquitted of all charges.

"My client was not the shooter, did not know that C.C. had a gun, did not know that he intended to do this, and there was absolutely no motive, no explanation—just a random act of violence," said Tulsa County Public Defender Gregg Graves.

But Downing said he doesn't buy Page's story.

"If he hadn't been driving and chasing them, then C.C. could have never pulled the trigger," Downing said. "I just always wanted to know why it happened. That would be the greatest answer for me is, ‘Why did you guys do it?' We know what happened, but we just don't know why."

Now, he said the only thing left to do is to try and come to terms with the fact that he may never get that answer.