Estranged husband, 55, 'shot dead his wife and her divorce attorney then killed himself' just days before divorce hearing

  • Timothy Michael Deffner, 55, was found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a field outside Norman, Oklahoma, Wednesday morning 
  • Hours earlier, police found his estranged wife, Cayann Patterson Deffner, 49, shot dead inside her burning home in Norman 
  • Patterson's divorce attorney Bryan Young, 47-year-old married father-of-one was discovered fatally shot in his home in Norman Tuesday night 
  • The Deffners were scheduled to appear in court for a status conference in their divorce case next Monday 
  • A warrant was issued for Timonthy Deffner's arrest on Tuesday in connection to unrelated forgery charges 
  • Cayann Patterson was a real estate agent and mother-of-four who had taken out two orders of protection against Deffner in 2015  

Double-murder suicide suspect: Police in Oklahoma say Timothy Deffner, 55 (pictured in earlier mugshot) killed his estranged wife and her divorce attorney Tuesday, then took his own life   

Double-murder suicide suspect: Police in Oklahoma say Timothy Deffner, 55 (pictured in earlier mugshot) killed his estranged wife and her divorce attorney Tuesday, then took his own life   

An Oklahoma man shot dead his estranged wife and her divorce attorney before turning the gun on himself while on the run from police, according to officials.

Investigators with the Norman Police Department discovered the bodies of 49-year-old Cayann Patterson Deffner and her attorney, 47-year-old Bryan Young, at two separate locations in the Oklahoma City suburb late Tuesday night.

Hours later, police found Deffner's husband, 55-year-old Timothy Michael Deffner, dead from self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in a field about 30 miles away.

Patterson and Deffner's marriage had been marred by allegations of domestic abuse and the wife had taken out two restraining orders against him in 2015.

The real estate agent and mother-of-four was scheduled to appear in court with her attorney, Bryan Young, for a status conference in her divorce proceedings next Monday.

Cayann Patterson Deffner, 49
Bryan Young, 47

Victims: Cayann Patterson Deffner, 49 (left), and her divorce lawyer Bryan Young, 47 (right), were killed in Norman, Oklahoma, Tuesday night 

Murder and arson: Patterson, a mother-of-four, was discovered fatally shot inside her home (pictured), which had been set ablaze 

Murder and arson: Patterson, a mother-of-four, was discovered fatally shot inside her home (pictured), which had been set ablaze 

According to detectives, a 911 call came in from Young's home in the 700 block of Trisha Lane in Norman at around 11.30pm about a shooting, reported NewsOK.

The married father was rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed to gunshot wounds.

His wife and child were home at the time of the attack but were not harmed.

A short time later, Norman firefighters responded to a call about a house fire in the 1000 block of West Lindsey Street. Inside, they found Cayann Patterson, who had been shot multiple times. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the immediate aftermath of the double homicide, police named Timothy Deffner a person of interest in the killings and launched a multi-county manhunt, which ended at around 9am Wednesday morning when the wanted man was found dead in Tecumseh, reported Fox25.

Troubled relationship: Timothy and Cayann were in the middle of divorce proceedings and were due in court for a status conference next week

Troubled relationship: Timothy and Cayann were in the middle of divorce proceedings and were due in court for a status conference next week

Patterson, a real estate agent and mother-of-four, pictured with her son, had filed for orders of protection twice in 2015
She accused Timothy, seen right with their daughter, of using a stun gun on her and pinning her to the wall

Patterson, a real estate agent and mother-of-four, pictured left with her son, had filed for orders of protection twice in 2015. She accused Timothy, seen right with their daughter, of using a stun gun on her and pinning her to a wall

Happier times: Cayann, Timothy and two of their children are pictured together in this undated Facebook photo

Happier times: Cayann, Timothy and two of their children are pictured together in this undated Facebook photo

Authorities believe Deffner may have been on his way to kill a third person when he decided to end his own life in a field.

Timothy Deffner had filed for divorce from Cayann Patterson in 2015, the news site reported. In August of that year, a judge granted the wife a five-year order of protection against Deffner, her second in as many months.

The first order, which had been granted in June, was dismissed only nine days later at Patterson’s request.

In her initial complaint, Patterson accused her husband of hitting her in the chest with a stun gun and pinning her to the wall with his hands around her throat, reported the Norman Transcript.

End of search: Following Patterson and Young's killings, police named Deffner as a person of interest and launched a searc, which ended Wednesday morning when his body was found in a filed in Tecumseh, Oklahoma (pictured) 

End of search: Following Patterson and Young's killings, police named Deffner as a person of interest and launched a searc, which ended Wednesday morning when his body was found in a filed in Tecumseh, Oklahoma (pictured) 

Third would-be victim: Authorities believe Deffner may have been on his way to kill a third person when he decided to end his own life

Patterson had taken out two orders of protection against Deffner, accusing him of hitting her with a stun gun and pinning her to the wall

Patterson had taken out two orders of protection against Deffner, accusing him of hitting her with a stun gun and pinning her to the wall

The wife also claimed Deffner threatened to kill her children ‘and have me watch before he kills me,’ and told her he would burn down their house, where he had been hiding guns, including in their daughter’s bedroom.

Timothy Deffner had unrelated forgery charges pending against him stemming from incidents that occurred in 2013 and 2014, and on Tuesday a warrant had been issued for his arrest in connection to those counts.

Bryan Young had spent 17 years working at Norman Public Schools as a teacher and a soccer coach, and for the last five years as a principal at Norman North High School. In 2014, he resigned his post to pursue a career in law and joined the firm Ward & Glass.

‘Bryan was a respected colleague and friend and he will be remembered as a ferocious advocate for students,’ said Norman superintendent Joe Siano.

 

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