Family Of Victim In Richard Glossip Case Previously Talked About Impact Of Murder

With the Oklahoma attorney general filing a motion to vacate the conviction of death row inmate Richard Glossip, the family of the victim has yet to comment publicly about the decision. But, they did speak with News 9 in 2015 about how the murder impacted their lives.

RELATED: Oklahoma AG Asks Court To Vacate Richard Glossip Conviction

Barry Van Treese was beaten to death in an Oklahoma City motel room in 1997. Prosecutors said Richard Glossip paid a co-worker, Justin Sneed, to kill Van Treese, who was Glossip's boss. Sneed confessed to the murder, and as part of his plea agreement to avoid the death penalty, Sneed testified against Glossip.

Glossip was convicted of first-degree murder in 1998 and has been on death row since, while Sneed received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

In 2001, the Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Glossip's conviction because of "ineffective assistance of counsel." But in 2004, he was found guilty again. Then, from 2014 through 2022, Glossip's execution was stayed multiple times.

Glossip has maintained his innocence, but the victim's family supported the jury's decision to convict him.

"You live with the consequences of your actions, and the death penalty in Oklahoma is the consequence of taking somebody else's life or causing someone else to take someone else's life. That's the law," said Ken Van Treese, brother of the victim, in a 2015 interview with News 9.

On Thursday, Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he filed a motion with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate the conviction of Glossip. Drummond said he made the decision because of a report from Rex Duncan, an independent counsel tasked with doing a comprehensive review of the Glossip case.

Drummond said while Duncan's report did not declare that Glossip is innocent, it did note multiple errors that cast doubt on Glossip's conviction. Drummond also said the State of Oklahoma had previously withheld a box of materials from Glossip's attorneys. Drummond said due to those elements, his motion calls for Glossip's conviction to be vacated and the case to be remanded to district court.

“My heart truly goes out to the Van Treese family, who have been waiting decades for a final measure of justice,” Drummond said in a statement. “The family and friends of Barry Van Treese have been in pain for 26 years, and what they have lost cannot be restored. I hope and pray that one day they will find peace.”

But in a 2015 interview with News 9, Barry Van Treese's widow, Donna, said closure may not be possible.

"There'll never be closure to this, really. You know, this is a fact of life that every member of my family, every member of Barry's family , we live this on a daily basis," Donna Van Treese said.

Barry Van Treese's brother, Ken, shared a similar sentiment.

"Justice is the day that Barry gets to hug his kids. That's justice," said Ken Van Treese. "And until you can provide that to me, don't talk to me about justice."

Despite the heartache, the family remembered Barry Van Treese as a loving father of five children.

"I want them to know him as a person who loved and cared and played and sang silly stupid songs to them, you know, when we were driving down the road on vacation," said Donna Van Treese. "Their dad got stolen from them and no child should ever have to be told that their dad's never coming home again."

While life had been difficult since Barry Van Treese's death, his family said they persevered.

"It's a waste of time, so just pull up your boot straps and keep on going, no matter how deep it gets," Donna Van Treese said.

News 9 made attempts to reach out to the Van Treese family after Drummond's announcement. But as of Thursday night, News 9 had not heard back.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals will rule on Drummond's request. If they grant it, the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office will decide whether the case will be tried again.