The Murders of Amanda Douglas and Jennifer Sudar-Sanders
For this case, I watched the latest episode of See No Evil on Discovery Plus. It’s season 7 episode 7, titled ‘Gold Pontiac.’
Two friends are murdered after a night out.
Background
Amanda Douglas
Amanda Douglas was a 26 year old mother of two. She was described as having a contagious personality and was always smiling. Amanda was married to a man named Larry, at the time of her death. (More on that later).
Jennifer Suder-Sanders
Jennifer Sudar-Sanders was 37 years old at the time of her death. She was also described as always being a happy person, and her mom said she was the life of the party. Jennifer’s mom also said she loved to help people and be around her friends.
Amanda and Jennifer met through work, and really hit it off. Amanda was struggling in her personal life, and had moved in with Jennifer at the time they were killed.
The Murders
On November 26, 2014, a 911 call came into the Tulsa police department around 9:30am. The caller said that someone had been shot at the Bristol Park Apartments. The caller said that victim was laying on the ground, and that there was blood everywhere.
Detectives Michael Zenoni and Dave Walker with the Tulsa PD arrived on the scene. When they arrived, they were told that there were actually two victims, and they were able to identify them right away because Jennifer lived at the complex.
Amanda was the victim who was laying on the ground, and had died instantly. Jennifer was rushed to the hospital, but died soon after arriving. Amanda had been shot multiple times, once in the upper shoulder and once in the head. The gun shot wound to the head is the shot that killed her. Jennifer was also shot, but the episode didn’t say where she was shot.
There were several employees that worked at the apartment complex that witnessed the shootings. A male employee said he heard the gunshots. A female employee said the shooter was a tall and lanky black male, who may have been in his 20’s. She also saw him leave in a gold Pontiac and was able to get the license plate. The car description was broadcasted over the police radio, but it came back as a stolen vehicle.
Investigation
It was a brutal attack. The police believed the two women knew their killer, because they ruled out robbery. Nothing was taken from the vehicle. It appeared that they were ambushed as they were beginning their day.
The police knew that the apartment complex would most likely have surveillance footage, and they did. They had to wait for the surveillance to be sent to them.
While they waited, they were able to gain entry to Jennifer’s apartment. It was a small apartment, with one bedroom. There was no sign of a struggle, and the apartment was clean besides several ash trays and the smell of cigarettes.
The police also wanted to trace Amanda and Jennifer’s movements from the night before they died. Around 7pm, they went to the Hard Rock Casino. They were able to obtain the surveillance footage from the casino. In the surveillance, they saw both women playing slots, drinking and talking to other people.
Amanda was seen talking to an older man, and they even went to the buffet together. However, the man was seen leaving the casino by himself soon after.
Possible Theories
A few days later, a tip came in about Jennifer. The tipster said that Jennifer had money issues, and was behind on her rent. This tip also said she was involved in a money laundering scheme, but lost a big chunk of money that night at the casino. The police eventually ruled this out as a theory after making several phone calls.
The police turned to Amanda as being the intended target. Amanda had been having issues with her husband Larry Douglas. Amanda’s sister said that started by being a nice person when they first got married, but lately, Larry was mean and abusive.
They had also gone to court on the Monday before the murder for a child custody case. Amanda had left Larry, and was planning on taking her kids with her. Larry was a well known drug dealer, and she wanted the kids out of harms way.
The police ran Larry through the system, but he didn’t match the description that the witnesses saw at the apartment complex on the day of the murder. However, Larry wasn’t ruled out, they wanted to speak to him.
Larry Douglas
It took awhile to get a hold of Larry. The police questioned one of Larry’s ex-wives first. They asked her if Larry was violent or abusive, and she said that Larry wouldn’t be angry enough to murder someone.
They asked Larry’s wife what kind of car Larry drove, and she said Larry had been driving her silver SUV for the past few weeks.
Larry’s wife left, and called Larry once she left the station and told him what was going on. Larry contacted the police because he was nervous.
Larry and his attorney came in a few days later. Larry told the police that he was in Oklahoma City at the time of the murder and couldn’t have done it. Larry allowed them to take his DNA, but he wouldn’t answer anymore questions. He was allowed to leave with his attorney.
The police obtained Larry’s phone records and it proved he was in Oklahoma City on the day of the murders.
The Gold Pontiac
The surveillance footage finally came into the station. The cameras were overlooking the front entrance, but it didn’t actually show the shooting take place or the aftermath.
The gold Pontiac is seen at the complex at 7:55am. The car backs into the foyer, near Jennifer’s apartment. Due to the camera angle, the police couldn’t see anyone getting in or out of the car. The car is seen leaving at 9:21am.
The gold Pontiac in the surveillance footage
The police believed that the car was probably abandoned by now. They were right, the car was spotted by some other investigators on a different case, it was found just three miles from the apartment.
The police did surveillance on the car for several hours, but nobody came to get the car. Then, they did what they call a sneak up on the car. They looked inside, and the inside of the car had been slightly burned. It appeared that someone had tried and failed to burn the car. Inside the car, a styrofoam coffee cup, candy wrappers and cigarettes were found.
The police collected the evidence, hoping that the cigarettes would have the killer’s DNA on them. The police also made some calls about where the styrofoam cup came from, and they tracked it to the Fiesta Mart.
The police were excited because they knew that the gas station would have surveillance.
The Surveillance Footage
The police obtained the surveillance footage from the Fiesta Mart. They decided to watch the footage from before the murders. They started at 6am and waited.
The police didn’t see a gold Pontiac, but they did see a silver SUV. Two black males are seen getting out of the vehicle and walk inside. They switched to the footage from the inside camera, and they are able to see a shot of one of the males. It’s a familiar face, Larry Douglas.
The police couldn’t identify the second male because he is wearing a hood, and has his head down. The second male did buy a cup of coffee and Larry paid for it. This second male is also a closer match to the description of the shooter.
The police now believed that Larry was involved. Maybe he wasn’t the shooter, but they believed he dropped off his accomplice and drove to Oklahoma City to establish an alibi.
The police needed to know who this second male was. They obtained Larry’s phone records, looking for reoccurring phone calls. There is one unknown number that kept coming up. The police ran the phone number through Facebook, and it came back to a man named Dale Childers.
Dale Childers was living with Larry at the time, and was apparently did everything for Larry. Larry said jump, Dale said how high. Dale didn’t match the witness’ description of the shooter. He was older, but the police believed that Dale was now involved too.
Dale’s financial records were obtained and the police discovered that Dale had used his EBT card several times at Kwik Trip, one mile from the apartment complex. Amanda’s sister said that Larry knew where Amanda was staying, and probably sent Dale to follow her.
Putting the Pieces Together
The police went to the nearby Kwik Trip and obtained the surveillance footage. The police are able to determine that the man in the footage is in fact Dale, but he isn’t alone. The first time he’s seen with Larry. The second time another male is seen with him. This male matches the description of the shooter, and this time his face is a little more visible.
The police switched the camera angle to the one from above the cash register. Dale is seen purchasing candy, the same candy that was found in the Pontiac.
The police obtained Dale and Larry’s phone records to try to find the identity of the shooter. Two minutes after the 911 call, Dale received a call from an unknown number. The number is finally traced to a man named Quantell Alverson.
The police now had all three of their suspects, but they wanted to see if the witnesses could identify Quantell. They created a photo lineup, and the female employee picked out Quantell as the being shooter.
What Really Happened?
Quantell Alverson was arrested and brought in for questioning.
Part of this interrogation is played in this episode. The police told Quantell that there are several witnesses that said they saw him shoot Amanda and Jennifer. Quantell said he didn’t shoot anyone. The police asked him how he knew Larry Douglas, and Quantell says “you tell me.”
The police are really sassy during this interrogation and I loved it. They told Quantell that’s he seen multiple times getting out of Larry’s car and walking around multiple gas stations with him.
The police left Quantell alone in the room for awhile, but left pictures of Jennifer and Amanda out on the table. They said that Quantell looked like he was going to cry, but he snapped out of it really quickly. They walked back into the room and the detective said “here’s your water, you better drink up before you go to jail.”
Quantell Alverson was charged with two counts of first degree murder. The police knew he didn’t act alone. When the police finally found Dale to question him, they found him dead. He had been shot three times.
Quantell Alverson, the shooter
Conviction
Quantell went on trial and was found guilty. He was given two life sentences.
Larry Douglas was being looked at by the FBI for a separate case, and he was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Larry Douglas
Other
The police believe Larry was the mastermind in the murders, and wanted Amanda dead because of their custody battle. Quantell didn’t even know Amanda or Jennifer.
Whether or not Dale’s case was a murder, it’s never been solved. However, he was shot three times, so I don’t think he killed himself.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All three of these men are trash. It’s terrible that Dale was murdered, if he was murdered, but he was involved in the murder of two women.
I honestly wonder if these two men were afraid of Larry or owed him something. Why would you willingly kill other people you don’t even know? I know people kill for less, but it’s so heartbreaking.
Amanda and Jennifer were just trying to start their day, and I can’t imagine how scared they were when they were shot. Thank God for these amazing police officers who solved their case. I just hope one day they can prove Larry was the one who hired Quantell to kill them.
Sources
https://www.newson6.com/story/5e35f4d62f69d76f620294f2/tulsa-mans-murderforhire-conviction-upheld
