Angela was my cousin. She was only 36 when she was murdered. She leaves behind 3 children, who will miss her very much. Here's her story...
The two victims were found bound, wrapped in a tarp and dumped along a rural road.



Homicide detectives arrested two men Wednesday in the slayings of two women who were bound, wrapped in a tarp and dumped on a rural road early Tuesday.

Eric Lee Phillips, 41, was booked into the Tulsa Jail on a first-degree murder complaint late Wednesday, and Tony Alton Hall, 52, was booked into the jail on a complaint of accessory to murder after the fact, jail records show.

Sgt. Mike Huff said the arrests culminated a joint investigation between the Tulsa Police Department and the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office into the slayings of Angela Bassett, 29, and Angela Hargrove, 36.

The investigation began when Bassett's and Hargrove's bodies were found bound with rope and partially covered by a blue tarp Tuesday morning in the 4000 block of East 56th Street North, an arrest report states.

A medical examination found that the women had been strangled, the report states.

The women were seen together Monday night at Cy's Bar, 4100 E. Admiral Place, and a witness said they left with a man in a Dodge Durango sometime after 9 p.m., according to the report.

Another witness told police that he had spoken on the phone with Hargrove that night and that she had said she was waiting for Hall to pick her up from the bar, the arrest report states.

Police went to Hall's home at 7327 E. Marshall St., where a Dodge Durango was parked out front and several blue tarps were in the front yard, according to police.

As officers were preparing a search warrant, Hall left the home and was stopped by officers and taken into custody, police said.

While being interviewed by detectives, Hall said he picked up both women from the bar, took them to Phillips' house at 4601 E. Pine St., and left them there with Phillips, the report states.

Hall said Phillips called him a short time later and asked him to come back. He said that when he returned, he saw both women lying dead and bound in the house, according to the report.

Hall went on to tell police that he helped Phillips move the bodies and dispose of them, providing explicit details, the report states.

Hall was arrested after law enforcement officers saw him driving away from his home about 3 p.m., Huff said.

Phillips was taken into custody about 6:30 p.m.

Phillips had been charged April 20 in Tulsa County District Court with two counts of domestic assault and battery -- one of them by strangulation -- as well as with endeavoring to manufacture a controlled drug and possessing a firearm while in the commission of a felony.

He posted $36,000 bond on April 23 and was released. The charges are pending.

Hall was convicted in 1996 of knowingly concealing stolen property and in 1995 of unlawful possession of controlled drug, according to court records.

Before the arrests Wednesday, family members of the women said they were hoping the killer would be caught quickly.

Hargrove's mother, Janet Webster, said: "I hope they show no mercy. Neither one of those girls got any mercy. They were useless deaths."

Multiple search warrants were served over two days to gather "a large amount of evi dence" in the case, Huff said Wednesday.

One man who had contact with at least one of the victims Monday -- the night before their deaths -- was cleared of involvement after he had been questioned and authorities had searched his house near Collinsville late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning.

Both women are survived by three children, family members said. The women had not known each other for very long, according to their families.

Webster learned from police of her daughter's death about 5 p.m. Tuesday.

"The thought that somebody just threw her to the side of the road does not make us feel very good," she said.

"I just can't imagine somebody doing that, let alone somebody like her. She was really a pretty quiet girl."

Hargrove was born and raised in Tulsa. She has a 10-year-old daughter and 14- and 16-year-old sons.

Webster said her daughter recently was divorced from her husband but that the divorce was amicable.

He lives next to Webster and helps with the care of the children, she said.

Webster said her daughter had been going out with her friends more often recently, likely because she met her former husband when she was 15 and didn't go out much when she was younger.

Hargrove's children, especially her youngest, are confused about their mother's death, Webster said.

"Can you imagine trying to explain to a 10-year-old girl why her mother was killed? She really wants to know why -- why someone would do this," Webster said.

Friends and relatives have established the Angela Hargrove Memorial Fund to assist her children. Donations can be made at any Bank of Oklahoma location.

Bassett's fiance, James White, described her as a "good person who was down-to-earth and loving."

White said the last time he saw her was near a bar where she had been Monday evening.

The police were called to the area, and White was arrested on traffic warrants, so he was booked into the Tulsa Jail.

White said Bassett worked at the Community Thrift Store at 51st Street and Peoria Avenue.

They planned to marry in March, he said.

Bassett is from Tulsa and attended Rogers High School. Her three sons range in age from 4 to 11, White said.