A fisherman in Oklahoma admitted to killing his buddy because he planned to feed him to a family of bigfoot after summoning the mythical creature, according to local prosecutors. Larry Sanders was fishing with his friend Jimmy Knighten in the South Canadian River in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, when Sanders suddenly strangled Knighten after claiming to see sasquatch-looking creatures downstream.
“So, his statement was that Mr. Knighten had summoned ‘Bigfoot’ to come and kill him, and that’s why he had to kill Mr. Knighten,” Sheriff John Christian told NBC news.
Back on July 9, 2022, Sanders and Knighten were “noodling,” a method of fishing where a person is submerged in water and uses their bare hands to snatch catfish by shoving their arms into the fish’s mouth. Catfish typically live in holes along riverbanks, and the controversial practice is popular in the south. During their expedition, Sanders claimed he saw three sasquatch-looking figures by the river, and believed Knighten was going to kill him and send his body down the river as a snack for the bigfoot creatures. That’s when Sanders wrapped Knighten in a deadly chokehold. Law enforcement found Knighten’s body the next day.
Sanders waived a jury trial and claimed he acted in self-defense. His fate was determined by a judge during a trial in mid-April, where the judge listened to testimony from a forensic psychiatrist who said Sanders suffered from meth-induced psychosis.
Knighten’s son, Airyn, who was dating Sanders’ daughter at the time, said during the trial that Larry was talking fast and “frantic.”
“I asked him, ‘Where is my dad?’ and he said, ‘He’s not coming back.’”
Sanders’ daughter, who had a strained relationship with her father at the time, said he confessed to killing Knighten at least five times. Sanders was ultimately convicted and faces life in prison without parole. “Yes, there was a monster in the woods that night, but it wasn’t bigfoot, it was Larry Sanders,” Pontotoc County District Attorney Erik Johnson said. (Fox News, 24 Apr 2024)
