An Oklahoma grandmother has been sentenced to life in prison, for the tragic murder of her 3-year-old granddaughter.
After her death, she left the victim's body to decompose in a trash can for days.
According to court records, she killed her granddaughter all so her son could celebrate Father’s Day.
Becky Vreeland, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder by child abuse in the 2022 death of her granddaughter, Riley Lynn Nolan.
On October 8, 2024, Vreeland entered a no-contest plea to the murder charge, while a separate charge of desecrating a human corpse was dropped.
On October 15, Cleveland County District Judge Lynne McGuire sentenced Vreeland to life in prison, which equates to 45 years in Oklahoma.
As per the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office, she must serve at least 85% of her sentence, or 38 years, before becoming eligible for parole.
This means she will be 99 years old when she will be done with her sentence.
The horrific crime came to light on June 21, 2022, when Oklahoma City police responded to a call at a home on SW 151 St. at around 2:22 p.m.
The call, described as "trouble unknown," was placed by Riley’s grandfather.
He told police he had found what appeared to be his granddaughter inside a green trash can in their backyard.
The child showed “obvious signs of trauma.”
Vreeland told police she had discovered Riley's body in the trash can days earlier but didn’t report it because the family was celebrating her son’s release from jail.
During a 2023 hearing, Vreeland’s ex-husband, Lyle Wayne Nolan, testified that Vreeland had informed him about Riley’s death while the family was celebrating.
According to him, she described it as an “accident” that happened three days earlier, as reported by KFOR.
Vreeland claimed Riley fell into a green dumpster after she had left the lid open when throwing away toys the night before.
Vreeland reportedly found Riley’s feet sticking out of the trash.
However, she chose not to report the death, fearing it would ruin her son’s Father’s Day celebration, the affidavit noted.
One of Riley’s siblings told police that on the morning of her death, Riley was unresponsive in bed with a noticeable bruise on her forehead.
According to the affidavit, Vreeland was known to use a wooden “whooping stick” on her grandchildren
Additionally, authorities found blood spatters in Vreeland’s bedroom and bathroom.
An autopsy revealed Riley had suffered three separate skull fractures, according to the medical examiner.
Vreeland's attorney did not comment on the case.
In a separate case, a man was sentenced to 17 years for fatally running over his girlfriend on her birthday.
See full details of that case here
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