Man Accused Of Killing Missing Tulsa Woman Cassidy Ritchie Given $5 Million Bond

A Tulsa judge sets bond at $5 million for Chris Morland, who is accused of murdering his wife and hiding her body in the back of her car along Highway 412.

Morland had married Cassidy Ritchie a few weeks ago on Jan. 7th. She went missing more than a week ago. Police believe Morland killed her, then lived in the car with her for two days, before he got a ride home and left the car on the side of the highway.

Ritchie’s mom and son were both in court for the bond hearing and were hoping Morland would be held with no bond.

They are at peace knowing he's locked up and plan to be at every single court hearing, fighting to get justice for Ritchie.

Ritchie’s family reported her missing ten days ago and told police from the beginning they believed Morland had something to do with it.

Investigators said Morland beat Ritchie to death after an argument, then drove her out near Inola.

Ritchie’s car was found on the side of the road last Friday, and Ritchie was found in the back of the car, hidden under clothes.

Investigators say Morland told them he and Ritchie went their separate ways after an argument and he hadn't seen her, but investigators say they proved Morland's alibi was false.

Witnesses told police Ritchie and Morland argued daily, and Ritchie’s son says they want to keep her story alive to be a voice for other domestic violence victims.

"It is all about her, yes, but we also want to make it about any other domestic violence victims that may be out there, and show her case and say that anyone else out there we want you to get out as soon as possible because unfortunately this is something it can lead to,” said Ritchie’s son, Joey David.

David says they will have a ceremony for Ritchie on Friday at the spot where her car was found, then they will have a celebration of life service for her on Sunday at the Rose Bowl Event Center.

He says anyone is welcome to come and show their support.

Why did investigators wait to search inside the car?

Investigators asked the suspect, Christopher Morland, if they could search it since he's part owner, but he said no, so they got a warrant. They got the warrant signed by a judge on Saturday, the 27th and the next day, found her Ritchie hidden inside the car.

"Serving a warrant on a murder scene is a lot more intricate than serving a warrant on, say, any car. We don't want to get into that car, we don't want detectives inside that car. We want crime scene to go over it because we are looking for trace evidence, we are looking for blood evidence, we are looking for DNA evidence,” said Watkins.

Watkins says the car was on the side of the highway for several days before they recovered it. OHP had even put a tow sticker on it.

"We can place our suspect with the car on Tuesday at that location,” said Watkins. "The suspect did a very good job of covering the body up and making it appear like there was nothing back there."

Had they seen evidence of her inside the vehicle, they could have searched without a warrant.

“We had to go through it, and we had to go through it right. You can do it fast, or you can do it right. We chose right. We don't want the suspect who killed her walking free because we decided to jump the gun,” said Watkins.

New documents say witnesses told police Morland and Ritchie argued daily.

They say Morland stayed in their car for two days after police believe he murdered Ritchie until he got a ride home last Wednesday.

A fund has been set up by a family friend to raise money for Ritchie's funeral expenses. Click here to view the GoFundMe.

What was the husband's criminal history?

Chris Morland was booked into the Tulsa County jail last Thursday on a Texas warrant for being a fugitive from justice.

Now, he's been booked for murder.

Records show he was arrested in Montague County, Texas, in 2019 for assault and had two warrants for having a gun as a felon and a parole violation in California, where investigators say he served time for murder.

Records show he was arrested for family violence in 2021 in Wichita County, Texas, accused of slapping and punching his wife, but that was later dismissed.