Oklahoma Executes Wendell Grissom for 2005 Murder of Amber Matthews

Oklahoma carried out the execution of Wendell Arden Grissom on Thursday, marking the state’s first execution of 2025 and the ninth in the United States this year. Grissom, 56, was convicted of the 2005 murder of 23-year-old Amber Matthews, a crime committed in front of her best friend’s two young daughters. The execution by lethal injection took place at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, and Grissom was pronounced dead at 10:13 a.m. local time.

The execution proceeded despite Grissom’s claims of not understanding his own actions. In a confession to police after the crime, he stated, "I don’t know what made me do what I did. I don’t know. I never done anything like this in my life…I have no explanation." More recently, Grissom expressed a lack of fear regarding his impending death in text messages to his spiritual advisor. He wrote, "I’ll finally be free from this place and all, you know? I for sure do not want to spend the rest of my life in this sorry place."

The execution occurred hours before Florida was scheduled to execute Edward Thomas James for the murders of a woman and her 8-year-old granddaughter, who was also raped. This double execution underscores a particularly active week for capital punishment in the United States.

Lance West, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, disclosed that Grissom’s last meal consisted of a medium thick-crust Canadian bacon supreme pizza, a pint of vanilla ice cream, and a pint of Coca-Cola. Six members of Grissom’s family witnessed the execution, alongside 26 members of the Kopf and Matthews families. Grissom’s sister was seated in the front row of the witness gallery.

In his final statement, Grissom offered a lengthy apology to "everyone he hurt." He also pleaded for forgiveness, stating, "I pray that you all can forgive me, not for my sake, for your sake. It is the only way you will find God in this." Witnesses described Grissom as calm in the moments leading up to the execution. He remarked, "I consider this a mercy. I’m going to be alright."

The brutal crime for which Grissom was executed occurred on November 3, 2005. Grissom and a homeless hitchhiker, Jessie Johns, were planning to burglarize homes when they targeted the residence of Dreu Kopf, Matthews’ friend, near Watonga, Oklahoma. Kopf was home with her two daughters and Matthews when Grissom arrived.

Initially, Grissom inquired about Kopf’s husband but soon forced his way into the house, reportedly laughing as he fired his weapon, according to court records. Kopf was shot in the wrist but managed to jump on Grissom while Matthews fled with Kopf’s 5-week-old daughter into a bedroom where Kopf’s 19-month-old daughter was sleeping.

"Dreu begged Grissom to stop," court records indicate. She offered him "anything he wanted" to spare their lives, but Kopf testified that "he was just laughing and he just kept shooting and shooting and laughing." Grissom shot Kopf in the head and hip.

Inside the bedroom with the girls, Matthews was reportedly "overcome with terror" upon hearing the gunfire and "vomited all over her jeans and on the floor," according to court documents.

Kopf managed to escape and steal Grissom’s truck, hoping he would follow her. As she fled, she heard Matthews scream, "Please don’t shoot me," before Grissom shot her in the back of the head and then the forehead as she held one of the girls. Matthews died at the scene.

Garry Matthews, Amber’s father, poignantly described his daughter as "the apple of my eye, a cute blond blue-eyed little bundle of joy." During Grissom’s 2008 trial, he said, "She was not only my daughter, she was my best friend. In and out of marriages, she was always there for me. The last restaurant we ate in, I can’t go back. Everything that reminds me of her brings back the pain."

Rita Russell, Matthew’s aunt, described her niece as a "pretty angel" before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board last month. "We never got to see her get married or have kids. She loved kids," she stated, before directly addressing Grissom: "You shattered our lives that day… There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss her beautiful smile."

The profound impact of Matthews’ murder continues to reverberate throughout the entire Matthews family. "My holidays are not the same. My son no longer has a big sister," Garry Matthews shared with the court. "I’m depressed. I miss my daughter so much and I want her back and can’t have her. I can’t even have her for one more day to say goodbye."

Grissom’s defense attorneys argued that his actions were influenced by a series of head injuries and developmental issues stemming from a difficult birth and subsequent accidents. According to court records, Grissom was born in 1968 in Arkansas and "remained in the birth canal for an inordinately long period of time, causing him to suffer oxygen deprivation."

His mother, Mary Grissom, stated that his development was stunted, and his parents had difficulty understanding him until he was about 7 years old. "It sounded like he was speaking Chinese," she said. Grissom also experienced emotional and behavioral problems in school.

Further complicating matters were several motorcycle accidents. As an 8-year-old, Grissom was riding a motorcycle without a helmet when he struck a concrete surface, losing consciousness and requiring 18 stitches to the back of his head. Additional motorcycle accidents at ages 15 and 16 resulted in further head injuries.

"Wendell was never the same after those close-in-time severe motorcycle accidents. He had awful headaches," his attorneys argued in court records. "This spelled the end of Wendell’s school days, as he was unable to return to school due to his physical and cognitive difficulties."

Grissom’s execution took place during a week marked by multiple executions across the country. On Tuesday, Louisiana executed Jessie Hoffman by nitrogen gas – a first in state history and only the fifth such execution in the U.S. – and Arizona put Aaron Gunches to death by lethal injection on Wednesday.
Edward Thomas James was executed in Florida hours after Grissom.

Grissom’s execution marks the ninth in the U.S. this year and James will be the tenth. There are 11 more scheduled executions in the U.S., with the number likely to grow.