Judge Orders Muskogee Man Charged With Murdering Brother, 5 Kids To Stand Trial

A judge ruled there's enough evidence against a Muskogee man charged with murdering five children and his brother for him to stand trial.

The mother of the five murdered children took the stand Wednesday for almost two hours in the preliminary hearing for Jarron Pridgeon. The media was not allowed to hear her testimony, but the children's mother and sole survivor of the shootings, Brittany Anderson, spoke with News On 6 exclusively after the hearing.

Anderson and her family were emotional after Wednesday's testimony.  Anderson said she testified about the night she and her five children were shot. She was the only survivor.

“It was hard going over it and just thinking about it, but I want to get justice for my babies, so I just gave them the answers that came to my recollection,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s ex-boyfriend Pridgeon is charged with shooting her and killing the children. Pridgeon is also charged with shooting and killing his brother, all inside Brittany's home. 

While Anderson testified, the media, as well as Anderson’s family, had to wait outside the courtroom because the hearing was closed to the public. The judge, Bret Smith, told News on 6 the hearing was closed because the testimony was being used for a separate deprived children case involving Brittany and her three surviving children. 

"I’m not happy that we didn’t get to go into the courtroom with her and we don’t even know the reason," said Brittany's sister, Raven Anderson. 

First assistant District Attorney Larry Edwards spoke to News on 6 after the hearing. 

“We were very happy with a Muskogee Police Department, they did a great investigation, he was obviously bound over on all accounts today," Edwards said. 

Pridgeon's defense attorney argued the state did not have good enough evidence for the case to go to trial, and even argued that Pridgeon's brother, Javarion Lee, was the one who killed the children. 

Anderson said she was felt strong Wednesday and felt her babies were with her.

"That’s what we are fighting for - for justice! That’s what she wants for her children, that’s what I want for my grandchildren, is justice,” Brittany's mother, Hope Anderson said. 

“I got God on my side so everything‘s going to be okay,” Brittany said.

The next step is for the District Attorney's Office and the Anderson family to decide whether to pursue the death penalty in this case.

In Wednesday's hearing, the judge sentenced Pridgeon to 10 years in prison in the Department of Corrections for a 2019 felony gun charge.