TULSA, Okla. — Around 11:00 p.m. March 28, 2000 Lisa Gaskin, 17, walked along the railroad tracks near 4200 Southwest Blvd.
It's the last walk she ever took.
“It’s been 24 years, 24 whole years where there’s not been any type of closure and it’s just like an open wound to the family,” said Gaskin’s stepsister, Monica Galchik.
Galchik told 2 News her stepsister visited their father at work earlier that day and he worried when he didn’t hear from her after that.
She said the timeline isn’t clear.
“Between the time she left my dad’s work to the time they discovered her around 1:00 was when the call went in, I believe, we don’t know exact, we don’t know where she was,” said Galchik.
A knock on their door telling them someone found Lisa’s body battered and bruised along the railroad tracks in west Tulsa shattered the family.
“Apparently there was a struggle with the individual she was with, and there was an altercation where she was beat with a lead pipe and essentially strangled to death. The major cause of death was strangulation and a gash to the back of her head because of the railroad tracks,” said Galchik.
Tulsa Police Homicide Lt. Brandon Watkins said there is a witness, but it’s been difficult to piece together.
“A homeless man who was in the area saw her walking with a man and saw them go out of eyeline or eyesight down along the railroad tracks and heard a scuffle but waited about an hour before he called police,” said Watkins.
Police believe DNA can eventually solve this case. They hope a new federal grant allows them to make headway in it
“Genealogical DNA is very expensive, and it is time-consuming. I want these things to be solved. Desperately, I want these things to be solved and not having the ability to do it is frustrating for us,” said Watkins.
In the meantime, Galchik continues her fight alone. Both her parents passed away.
“I think with all of these types of cases, every family just wants that person to be remembered and they want closure,” said Galchik.
Anyone with any information about the death of Lisa Gaskin can contact Tulsa Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.
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