OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma serial killer has avoided the death penalty by taking a plea deal for the 2017 murder of four people, including a Longview woman.
According to The Oklahoman, Mario James Normore, 31, will spend the rest of his life in prison after taking a plea deal on Thursday, March 23, in exchange for prosecutors taking the death penalty off the table. Normore received four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Normore was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one of which involved Ashley Easton, 30, a 2005 Spring Hill High School graduate.
On July 10, 2017, officials discovered the body of Bashar Burks, 27, in a wrecked, burning vehicle near N. Air Depot Blvd. and E. Wilshire Blvd. in Oklahoma City. Officials determined Burks was dead prior to the vehicle catching fire.
The next day, the body of Easton, who was Burks' girlfriend at the time, was found in a ditch a few blocks away from the scene of the burning vehicle. She had been shot in the neck and head, according to Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office.
Law enforcement determined the driver of the vehicle had left the scene before the fire.
According to NewsOK, police stated Burks and Normore worked together prior to Burks' death.
A vigil was held on July 16, 2017, honoring the lives of Burks and Easton, according to KOCO, and a GoFundMe set up for Easton's three children has raised $4,976 of the $10,000 sought.
On August 19, 2017, Serra Howe, 21, told her mother she was going to McDonald's and would be back shortly, reports KFOR. However, she was never seen alive again.
Later that day, her abandoned car was found near NW 21st St. and N. May Ave. in Oklahoma City.
On October 25, 2017, Howe's body was found in a heavily wooded area on N. Oak Ave., about seven miles southwest of Jones, Oklahoma. Officials determined her death was a homicide.
Police say Howe and Normore were reportedly friends prior to her death.
Authorities have also connected Normore to the missing persons case/murder of James Knowles, 58, who was last seen by his family on October 3, 2017.
According to police, Knowles was the maintenance man at the Oklahoma City apartment complex where Normore lived and was reported to be an acquaintance of Normore's.
On October 27, 2017, Normore was arrested and charged with committing two bank robberies and eight business robberies over a two-month period in Northwest Oklahoma City.
On September 28, 2018, Normore, who has a lengthy rap sheet, was charged with the murders of Easton, Burks, Howe and Knowles, although his body has not been found.
On Friday, Normore was transferred from the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office into the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to serve his life sentence.