A State Awaits: Oklahoma Prepares for First Execution in 2025, Echoing the Haunting 2005 Murder of Amber Matthews

The state of Oklahoma is poised to carry out its first execution in 2025, a somber event that casts a long shadow back to a brutal crime committed two decades prior. Wendell Arden Grissom is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday, marking the ninth execution in the United States this year. His name is forever linked to the senseless murder of Amber Matthews and the near-fatal wounding of Dreu Kopf in a 2005 home invasion that shattered lives and continues to resonate deeply within the victims’ families.

As the execution date approaches, memories of the horrific crime resurface, forcing a re-examination of the events of November 3, 2005, and the enduring impact on those left behind. The story is one of unimaginable loss, resilience in the face of unimaginable trauma, and the agonizing journey toward forgiveness.

Amber Matthews and Dreu Kopf, though friends for only two years, shared a bond so strong that they were virtually inseparable. That bond was irrevocably forged in the crucible of a terrifying home invasion, where one lost her life and the other barely escaped with hers. Kopf’s victim impact statement, a testament to the enduring pain, speaks volumes: “I would give anything to be able to call her at work again. I had a special ringtone for her and I miss hearing it.”

On that fateful day, Grissom, accompanied by a homeless hitchhiker named Jessie Johns, targeted Kopf’s home near Watonga, a town nestled 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Their initial intention was burglary, but their plans took a sinister turn upon encountering Kopf and Matthews.

Kopf was at home with her two young daughters, a 5-week-old infant and a 19-month-old toddler, when Grissom arrived at her doorstep. He initially inquired about her husband’s whereabouts, but his true intentions quickly became clear. He forced his way into the home, firing his weapon and, according to court records, laughing maniacally as he did so.

Amidst the chaos, Kopf, already wounded in the wrist, bravely attacked Grissom. Matthews, acting instinctively to protect the children, grabbed the infant and fled into a bedroom where the toddler was sleeping.

"Dreu begged Grissom to stop," court records recount. She offered him anything he wanted, pleading for their lives. But Grissom remained unmoved, his laughter a chilling counterpoint to the escalating violence. "He was just laughing and he just kept shooting and shooting and laughing," Kopf later testified.

Grissom shot Kopf in the head and hip, leaving her severely wounded but alive. Inside the bedroom, Matthews, hearing the gunshots, was overwhelmed with terror and vomited in her fear.

In a desperate act of survival, Kopf managed to steal Grissom’s truck and drive away, hoping to lure him away from her children and friend. As she fled, she heard Matthews’ desperate plea: "Please don’t shoot me." But Grissom showed no mercy, shooting her in the back of the head and then the forehead as she cradled one of the young girls. Matthews died at the scene, a victim of senseless violence.

Kopf miraculously managed to flag down help and was rushed to a hospital, where she underwent life-saving treatment. Law enforcement officials apprehended Grissom and Johns at a nearby café, thanks to alert citizens who recognized them from descriptions broadcast by the police.

In the years that followed, Dreu Kopf embarked on a long and arduous journey of recovery, both physical and emotional. Speaking to USA TODAY ahead of Grissom’s execution, she described the profound impact the crime had on her life and her family.

"I was scared all of the time. My husband wouldn’t leave my side," Kopf recounted. "I lived in fear 24/7." The trauma was so pervasive that it affected every aspect of her life. Her daughter, Rylee Kopf, who was just 17 months old at the time of the invasion, recalled the struggles her mother endured.

"My mom would probably, with no exaggeration, call my dad 100 times a day, asking when he’s going to be home and if he couldn’t give her an answer she would call back," she said. "She didn’t want to be home alone." Other family members described Kopf as someone who was "paralyzed by fear" as she attempted to rebuild her life.

Despite the lasting scars, Kopf has found a measure of peace through forgiveness. "I have to forgive this guy or Grissom is going to ride on my shoulder the rest of my life and control the rest of my life," she explained.

With Grissom’s execution imminent, Kopf sees it as the end of a long and painful chapter. "Amber is always going to be 6 feet under and I will always be the girl that got shot. I’m probably going to always be nervous and scared," Kopf said. "It’s taken 20 years of my life that I’ve had to deal with him. It’s a rollercoaster." She plans to witness Grissom’s execution alongside her now-grown daughters, who are 19 and 20 years old. She hopes that Grissom’s death will finally allow her to move forward and never think of him again.

For Garry Matthews, Amber’s father, the pain of loss remains as raw as the day she was taken. He described his daughter as the "apple of my eye, a cute blond blue-eyed little bundle of joy."

"She was not only my daughter, she was my best friend. In and out of marriages, she was always there for me," he testified during Grissom’s 2008 trial. "The last restaurant we ate in, I can’t go back. Everything that reminds me of her brings back the pain."

While USA TODAY was unable to directly interview members of Matthews’ family for this article, court records paint a picture of a family forever shattered by her loss.

Matthews’ aunt, Rita Russell, told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board that her niece was a "pretty angel." "We never got to see her get married or have kids. She loved kids," she said, addressing Grissom directly. "You shattered our lives that day … There’s not a day that does by that I don’t miss her beautiful smile."

The ripple effects of Grissom’s crime continue to haunt the entire Matthews family. "My holidays are not the same. My son no longer has a big sister," Garry Matthews said in 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."

As Oklahoma prepares to carry out its first execution in 2025, the case of Wendell Arden Grissom serves as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of violence and the enduring impact on the lives of victims and their families. While justice may be served, the scars of the past remain, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the long, arduous journey toward healing.