Jewel Jean “Juli” Busken of Benton, Arkansas was kidnapped in Norman, Oklahoma, then raped and murdered on December 20, 1996 but it was about 8 years before officials matched a suspect to DNA, and couple more years before the murderer was sentenced.
Anthony Castillo Sanchez, age 44, was sentenced to death for capital murder in 2006 and stayed in prison about 18 years until he was executed this morning, according to the State of Oklahoma. The jury’s sentence for Sanchez in 2006 recommended 40-years in prison and a $10,000 fine for one rape count, and a 20-year sentence and a $10,000 fine for one sodomy count, according to Oklahoman.com. The newspaper said he lethally injected at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and died on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at 10:19 a.m.
Busken was a talented ballerina. A memorial scholarship has been established in her name in Oklahoma. You can find a plaque in Benton’s Tyndall Park showing the dedication of Juli Busken Amphitheatre.