OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 2, 2025) – The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed today a lower court ruling that prematurely barred the use of Karl Fontenot’s 1984 murder confession. Attorney General Gentner Drummond called the decision a significant victory that ensures the State can fully present its case at trial.
Fontenot was twice convicted by Oklahoma juries in the brutal murder of 24-year-old Donna Denice Haraway, a convenience store clerk and aspiring teacher in Ada. After the second conviction, he agreed to forego jury re-sentencing in exchange for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Federal courts later granted him a new trial after finding the prosecution had withheld evidence, and the State began retrial proceedings.
In February 2024, before the new trial started, the trial court suppressed Fontenot's confession. The judge based his decision on federal court findings without hearing any new evidence or allowing the State to present witnesses. The Attorney General's Office appealed that decision.
The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled today that the district court abused its discretion by suppressing Fontenot's confession. The court held that confession admissibility must be determined during trial, after both sides present their evidence, not before the trial begins.
"This decision upholds the fundamental principle that both parties are entitled to present their evidence at trial," said Drummond. "The State must have the opportunity to present corroborating evidence before a court rules on the admissibility of a confession. This case involves the brutal murder of a young newlywed with her whole life ahead of her, and justice demands that we be allowed to present our case in full."
The case has been sent back to the district court where retrial proceedings can move forward. Given the prior rulings in his case, Fontenot, like every person arrested or charged, is presumed innocent unless and until convicted of a crime in a court of law.
