An Oklahoma woman found not guilty by reason of insanity in a fatal 2013 crash has been apprehended in Oconto County after she apparently violated the terms of her release from a mental institution.
Shea Lynn McClain, 38, of Collinsville, Oklahoma, appeared before Oconto County Judge Michael Judge on Jan. 29 after being taken into custody on a mental health hold. The judge scheduled an extradition hearing for Feb. 5 to give her time to speak with the State Public Defender’s Office, and said the date can be moved up on request.
According to online records, McClain caused a car wreck in Tulsa County on Dec. 5, 2013, that led to the death of Cameron Hood, 24, a photojournalist for KJRH-TV Channel 2 in Tulsa. McClain failed to stop at a stop sign and ran into the car that Hood was driving, killing him. Her car was traveling at between 96 and 104 mph in a 40 mph zone at the time of the collision.
A criminal complaint was filed in August 2014 charging her with child neglect and negligent homicide by use of a motor vehicle. The second charge was amended in April 2015 to manslaughter in the first degree by use of a vehicle.
On May 22, 2017, McClain was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and she was ordered confined to the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, Oklahoma, the state’s largest inpatient behavioral health facility in the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
In May 2024, Tulsa County Judge David Guten approved a placement plan with conditions including that McClain may not leave the county or the state of Oklahoma without first seeking permission from the court.
According to the case file with the Oconto County Clerk of Courts Office, on Jan. 17 of this year, Guten issued a bench warrant charging McClain with indirect contempt of court and ordering that she be held without bond when found. The county contacted Oklahoma officials on Jan. 23 after the warrant turned up in a computer search after she was taken into custody.
The fugitive complaint defines indirect contempt of court under Oklahoma law as “willful disobedience of any process or order lawfully issued or made by the court.”
The court files do not have details about how authorities knew McClain had left Oklahoma or the circumstances that led to her detainment in Oconto County.
wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com
Oklahoma fugitive caught in Oconto County
