EL RENO — Handcuffed and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit while slumped in a Canadian County Courthouse witness stand, admitted murderer Vaughn Cannon bowed his head and uttered three words when a prosecutor asked him to look at the nearby image of his dead wife on their bed. He had shot the woman in the face a dozen times.
“I will not,” he said.
Cannon, a 42-year-old former Cleveland County sheriff’s deputy, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2023 shooting death of Jordan Cannon, 40, who also was a deputy in Cleveland County.
Vaughn Cannon previously pleaded guilty to first-degree murder without a plea agreement in place. He waived his right to a trial. Canadian County District Court Judge Paul Hesse imposed the sentence.
In asking for the sentence, Nathan “Rusty” Pyle, Jordan Cannon’s father, told Hesse it had been 466 days since his daughter was murdered.
“Every night before I go to bed, it’s the last thing that goes through my mind,” he said.
Pyle said he had reservations about their marriage but knew his daughter would marry Vaughn Cannon with or without his blessing. He asked Cannon to never raise a hand to his daughter, and recalled Cannon saying he would never do such a thing.
With Cannon seated just steps away, Pyle told him:
“No, you just shot her 12 times in the face.”
What happened to Cleveland County Sheriff’s Deputy Jordan Cannon?
Jordan Cannon was found shot to death just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 30, 2023, at her home in the 10900 block of SW 30 in Yukon. Police arrested Vaughn Cannon at the scene.
Detective John Revel, of the Oklahoma City Police Department, investigated the case.
Revel testified he interviewed Cannon, who explained that he and his wife earlier ran errands, had dinner at a restaurant and finished the night having drinks at a local bar, which they left about midnight. Revel also testified that Vaughn Cannon told him he only “saw flashes” of the fatal gunfire and didn’t recall much else.
The investigation turned up video from the bar. Jordan Cannon appeared to be lethargic after several drinks. Vaughn Cannon could be seen helping her.
Cleveland County sheriff’s deputy Jordan Cannon was murdered in 2023 by her husband, Vaughn Cannon
Revel testified Vaughn Cannon didn’t appear to be intoxicated.
Police body camera footage and still images of the murder scene in the master bedroom were shown in the courtroom.
Vaughn Cannon is heard behind the bedroom door calling his uncle for help. Officers are heard telling him they were there to help, but he needed to not have a weapon on him. They eventually handcuffed him.
Assistant District Attorney Austin Murrey showed the courtroom a still image of Jordan Cannon’s dead body. Cries could be heard, and some left the courtroom.
Murrey showed another still image. Some in the courtroom gasped when they saw Jordan Cannon’s face.
Police recovered a dozen 9 mm shell casings, Revel testified. He told the court it appeared Vaughn Cannon at one point reloaded his weapon to continue shooting his wife.
Revel, who has served on the police force for about 15 years, said “by far it’s probably the worst” murder he has ever seen.
Jordan Cannon remembered as dedicated public servant
In June 2021, Jordan Cannon started with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office as a school resource officer before moving to the patrol division.
She later served on the crisis intervention team, later becoming an instructor.
She also served with the sheriff’s office honor guard.
Jordan Cannon was remembered by colleagues as a courageous and compassionate person and a dedicated public servant.
Her obituary states she enjoyed photography, cooking and decorating.
“She enjoyed giving people a hard time and was fluent in sarcasm,” her obituary states.
Jordan Cannon enjoyed traveling to Alaska and photographing nature and wildlife.
Vaughn Cannon started with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office in March 2021.
His ex-wife, Yvonne Goettsch, described him as an abusive husband who once pointed a gun at her.
“I was shocked that this incident happened, but I was not surprised he was capable of that,” Goettsch said of the murder.
Entered into evidence were journal writings by Jordan Cannon.
“I find myself really conflicted. I know that I should go,” she once wrote.
She wrote of wanting Vaughn Cannon back without his drunkenness and meanness. She also wrote of her terror at his hands when he once pushed her through a mirror.
One of Vaughn Cannon’s sons, who counts Jordan Cannon as his stepmother, took the witness stand.
The son scolded his father, saying he robbed Jordan Cannon of attending events during his senior year of high school. He recalled Vaughn Cannon hardly being there for him as a kid. The son told Vaughn Cannon he was a disgrace to their family and did not deserve the title of “father.”
Staring directly at Vaughn Cannon, the son said:
“I (expletive) hate you.”
No explanations given in murder of Jordan Cannon
The packed courtroom was filled with Jordan Cannon’s family, friends and former co-workers. Many wore a purple ribbon with a button featuring a photo of her.
Murrey played the 911 call of Cannon’s 17-year-old natural son calling for help. Breathing heavily, he was frightened at what he heard.
“A child should not have to report that his mother was slaughtered 20 feet away,” Murrey told Hesse.
Defense attorney Zac Ramsey offered no excuse for Vaughn Cannon’s deadly actions.
In asking for life with the possibility of parole, and a partially suspended sentence at the judge’s discretion, Ramsey explained that Vaughn Cannon grew up with parents who used drugs, and his client struggled with alcohol abuse.
Ramsey described Vaughn Cannon as a Marine who deals with depression and anxiety. His client called a mental health hotline in the weeks leading up to murdering his wife, Ramsey said. After the mirror incident, Vaughn Ramsey went into rehab.
The murder was not premeditated, Ramsey argued.
“It wasn’t in anybody’s plans for this to happen,” he told Hesse.
In a turn that shocked those in the courtroom, Ramsey told the judge Vaughn Cannon wanted to read from a prepared statement.
The judge warned Ramsey that if his client read a statement, he likely would face cross-examination from Murrey, the prosecutor.
Cannon took the witness stand and read from a yellow piece of paper.
“I will always hold myself accountable,” he read from the statement.
At times raising his voice, sometimes speaking in hushed tones, and sounding as though he was sniffling, Cannon spoke of his marriage as a struggle among two hard-bitten law enforcement officers who self-medicated but dedicated themselves to staying together.
He said his wife told him she had rheumatoid arthritis and worried he would leave her. Cannon said he told her would never leave her “no matter how hard it got.”
Those in the courtroom grew agitated by the statement with each passing minute. Some shook their heads. Others sighed or groaned.
Undeterred, Cannon continued, saying he understood everyone’s pain.
“It feels much worse for me,” he said.
Murrey was unrelenting in his questioning of Cannon.
He repeatedly asked Cannon how he could expect the state to believe he was emotionally and mentally capable to be on the front lines of law enforcement, yet ask for leniency in the names of anxiety and depression.
“I will accept what the court sentences me to,” Cannon said.
Murrey asked Cannon to explain how he could remember the last night with his wife — dinner and drinks — but couldn’t recall the deadly shooting.
Cannon, who said earlier in the hearing he was more than 6 feet tall and weighed about 250 pounds, explained that he “blacked out” on eight beers and four whiskeys. He said he recalled “hearing” five gunshots.
“Where were you for the other seven,” Murrey asked.
Asked if his life was more valuable than his wife’s, Cannon said:
“I don’t have value anymore.”
Before announcing the sentence, Hesse called the murder senseless, saying that Cannon treated his wife like an animal.
Hesse told Cannon that he was still left wondering why he murdered his wife. It didn’t appear to be in the heat of passion or fueled by drugs and alcohol, Hesse said.
“I have no evidence before me that explains why you did what you did — put 12 bullets in your wife’s head,” the judge said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Former Oklahoma deputy gets life without parole for wife’s murder