Published: May 20, 2008 08:05 pm            

Sister of alleged murderer accused of false witness

Aletha Ann Vaught, 60, of Idaho, was accused Monday of providing false testimony in her sister's first-degree murder charge.

Vaught's sister, Judie Ann Hansen, 61, Ada, was charged with first-degree murder earlier this year in a 28-year-old investigation of her ex-husband's death.

Vaught is accused of one count of perjury for “feloniously, willfully and unlawfully” offering untrue statements when appearing as a witness before a grand jury.

“Vaught is accused of providing false testimony to a multi-county grand jury in an indictment unsealed (Monday) in Oklahoma County District Court,” Attorney General Drew Edmonson said in a press release.

Vaught appeared before the grand jury in April as part of the cold case investigation into Boudrie’s death 28 years ago. Vaught was testifying after a monitored telephone conversation revealed she may have information about the crime, the release said.

According to Ada Evening News archives, Boudrie’s body was found by a Vanoss student teacher who had taken a high school biology class on a field trip to the Wilson community April 28, 1980. The medical examiner X-rayed the body and found evidence of a gunshot wound to the head. He determined it was Boudrie by dental records.

Officials determined the death was a homicide and theorized Boudrie was marched to the death site at gunpoint, shot, then covered where he fell.

Investigators said there was no sign of a struggle, except Boudrie’s pants pockets were turned inside out.

Officers believe Boudrie’s billfold was taken to delay identification, rather than as robbery. Bond said Boudrie and Hansen, although divorced, lived together as man and wife in Pickett.

After media reports describing the unidentified body reached Hansen, she notified the sheriff’s office Boudrie had been missing since March of that year, Bond said.

In March 2007, OSBI Special Agent Gary Perkinson began a cold case investigation into the murder, District Attorney Chris Ross said.

“The investigation included locating witnesses and obtaining wire taps to record phone conversations,” Ross said. “The investigation continued until March 2008, at which time Perkinson submitted reports to me.

“On April 16 and 17, 2008, 14 witnesses were called before the multi-county grand jury in Oklahoma City. On April 17, the grand jury returned the sealed indictment,” Ross said.

“Hansen was a suspect back in 1980, but officials didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest,” Perkinson said after his appearance in the courtroom. “Hansen and Boudrie were involved in what some would call a turbulent relationship at the time of his death.”

Hansen turned herself in to Perkinson April 23 after the indictment was unsealed and the charges were revealed. She posted bail two days later.

The wire tap was conducted by the Pontotoc County District Attorney’s Office, Office of the Attorney General, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.