Crime Junkie: MURDERED: Oakey "Al" Kite

Hosted by Ashley Flowers | Original Air Date: September 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, Ashley Flowers revisits one of her most haunting true crime cases: the 2004 murder of Oakey "Al" Kite in Aurora, Colorado. The murder remains unsolved after over 18 years, and its chilling details and mysterious suspect have kept both investigators and true crime followers up at night. Ashley delves into the meticulous details of the crime scene, introduces the enigmatic figure known as “Robert Cooper,” and highlights the investigative twists and challenges that have stymied law enforcement. Throughout, Ashley’s goal is not just to tell Al’s story but to raise awareness—perhaps, she suggests, a listener holds the missing piece to finally solve this disturbing case.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Discovery of Al Kite’s Murder (00:00 - 07:30)

• Al’s Absence Raises Alarm:
  Al, a responsible accountant, fails to show up to work. His employer, Philip, and other colleagues become worried.

• Oddity with the Cell Phone:
  They call Al’s landline; no answer. When they call his cell, a man named "Joe" answers, claiming he found the phone on a payphone and offers to sell it back to them for $10.

• Welfare Check Leads to Gruesome Find:
  After alarmed calls from both Philip and Al’s sister Barbara, police conduct a welfare check.

  • House appears undisturbed, but in the kitchen, all the knives and a set of keys are soaking in bleach.

• The Basement Scene:
  Officers find Al in the basement, face down, partially under a bed frame, covered with a bath mat. It's a "scene from a horror movie" with blood on walls, carpet, and ceiling. Al is deceased, with severe trauma to his head, neck, and torso, and ligature marks on arms and legs.

  Quote [Ashley, 05:20]:
  “There was blood everywhere. It was splattered on the walls, pooled on the carpet floor, and even spotted across the ceiling... one look at him among the carnage told the officers that he was already deceased.”

Initial Investigation & Clues (07:30 - 15:30)

• CSI and Evidence Gathering:
  Agent Tom Sobieski and team are assigned the case. They find a small piece of rope near Al’s body, confirming restraints were used.

• Blood Soaked Knives, Signed Lease, and Missing Belongings:

  • Knives and keys found soaking in bleach, destroying forensic evidence.
  • A lease agreement and a phone number for “Robert Cooper,” who was to rent the basement space.
  • Al’s wallet, vehicle, bleach container, some towels and a set of clothes missing—indicating the killer changed and left wearing Al’s clothes.

• Debunking Myths:
  Contrary to online theories, there is no evidence the killer slept at Al’s house.

  Quote [Agent Sobieski, 12:05]:
  “Okie was very... I mean, everything was in its place, from his office to his closet. And there was one pair of pants missing, one shirt missing from his closet.”

The Search for “Robert Cooper” & Crime Scene Investigation (15:30 - 21:44)

• Al’s Reputation:
  Friends and neighbors describe Al as friendly, responsible, and universally well-liked, making his violent murder even more shocking.

• Robert Cooper:

  • Al’s friends and family confirm "Robert Cooper" was to be his new tenant, supposedly from the East Coast, transferring with Wells Fargo.
  • Neighbor reports seeing a well-dressed man with dark hair and a cane entering Al's home days prior.
  • Lease paperwork signed, but no personal effects in the basement.

• Autopsy Report:

  • Al was hogtied with an elaborate rope pattern (over 40 feet), indicating a possible ritual or thrill for the killer.
  • Al was tortured for hours, beaten, and stabbed 11 times in the ears, eyes, shoulders, and torso. Cause of death was a deep cut to the throat.
  • Coroner suggests wounds required immense force; evidence indicates the killer may have injured himself during the attack.

  Quote [Agent Sobieski, 18:08]:
  “It would take over 40 foot of rope to do that. It was quite an elaborate pattern. It was all perfectly spaced out... I’m sure that was part of the ritual or the thrill the suspect got.”

Timeline, Witness Accounts, and False Leads (21:44 - 28:06)

• Time of Death Narrowed:
  Al was last seen Saturday afternoon; murder took place between Friday and Monday.

• Interviews with Friends & Girlfriend:

  • Al’s best friend confirms Al planned to meet his new roommate (Robert) and then go out Saturday but never showed up.
  • Al’s girlfriend, Linda, spoke to him Saturday afternoon but felt "something was off." She recalls seeing Robert at Al's place days before the murder—a white man, dark brown hair, well-dressed, no cane.

• Rental Paperwork a Dud:
  All personal information provided by “Robert Cooper” (address, references, SSN, driver’s license) is fake.

  Quote [Ashley, 24:10]:
  “So when Linda finished her travel and got to her hotel, she called just to check in with him. Now he picked up the phone, but she said that something felt off... When she learned what had happened to Al, she believed that Al's killer was in the house as they were speaking.”

The Phone Records Rabbit Hole (28:06 - End)

• Tracing the Phones:

  • Robert Cooper’s cell phone prepaid, tied to the same fake info as rental agreement.
  • After murder, both Al’s and Robert's phones end up in the hands of homeless people, generating dead-end leads and derailing the investigation for a week.
  • Phone records reveal Robert called Al 10 times and many other people with rental ads.

• The Pattern Emerges:
  Ashley teases a major development—Agent Sobieski’s painstaking calls to over 100 people reveal disturbing connections and patterns, hinting at a wider operation or predator strategy.

  Quote [Agent Sobieski, 31:24]:
  “But the fact that both cell phones, Okie Kite's and Robert Cooper's, got into the hands of homeless people threw us off for a week... if we'd known that, we would, we could have been doing a lot of other things.”

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Ashley on the case’s impact (00:23):
  "There are certain cases that I obsess over... the 2004 case of Al Kite is one of those."
• Agent Sobieski’s shock at the crime scene (08:40):
  "We actually called the Arapahoe county coroner to the scene because this was something that we had never seen before..."
• Chilling insight into the killer's ritual (18:08):
  "It was quite an elaborate pattern. It was all perfectly spaced out and the crosses with the ropes crossed were all perfect."
• Revealing the killer’s use of fake identity (27:34):
  "Every single thing on there turned out to be bogus... The name Robert Cooper was almost definitely fake, too."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 — Introduction, case overview, context
• 05:20 — Discovery of Al Kite’s body and the crime scene
• 12:05 — Discovery of missing clothing, killer changing in Al’s house
• 15:27 — Descriptions of Al, initial reaction by community
• 18:08 — Details of ligature marks and murder ritual
• 19:35 — Autopsy and torture timeline
• 23:50 — Timeline reconstructed via friend’s and girlfriend’s accounts
• 24:10 — Linda’s disturbing phone call with Al
• 27:34 — Investigation into Robert Cooper's fake identity
• 29:34 — The complications introduced by the mishandled cell phones
• 31:56 — Discovery of phone record patterns and the investigative shift

Episode Tone & Language

• Throughout, Ashley’s tone is urgent, empathetic, and meticulous, reflecting both her personal investment in the case and her desire to contribute to its resolution.
• Technical police terms are explained for clarity, and sensitive material is handled with care and respect for the victim.
• Direct quotes from Agent Sobieski bring an authoritative, investigative perspective, balancing Ashley’s narrative style.

Summary Takeaways

• Oakey “Al” Kite’s murder remains unsolved, marked by an elaborate, ritualistic MO and a suspect who used a false identity to gain access to his victim.
• Critical investigative threads include the peculiar behavior and thorough planning of the killer, misleading evidence trails (e.g., cell phones in the homeless community), and the chilling realization that “Robert Cooper” may have targeted others in the same calculated way.
• The case calls for public attention—Ashley makes clear that community awareness might be the crucial key to finally catching Al’s killer.

To Continue the Story

Ashley teases crucial connections discovered by Agent Sobieski in the next episode ("Part Two") and encourages listeners to seek it out—because every detail might matter in delivering justice for Al Kite.