TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa man was arrested for murder in New York City.
Alex Ray Scott, 24, is being charged for the murder of 64-year-old Kenneth Savinski.
The murder comes as a shock to neighbors, especially because authorities believe the victim had a romantic relationship with Scott, who's 40-years younger.
“I don’t know anything about the 24-year-old person," said Charles Franck, Savinski's neighbor. "This is the first that I’m hearing about the 24-year-old person.”
Scott is also facing trouble here in Oklahoma, where court records show he's charged with two counts of lewd molestation. Police say he disappeared from Oklahoma and was found in New York one month later threatening to kill himself. Records also show he was taken to a New York psychiatric hospital before being brought back to Oklahoma.
Last July, a judge cut Scott's $100,000 bond in half on the condition that he wear a GPS monitor and a SCRAM bracelet, which monitors alcohol consumption. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said Scott then asked to move to Sallisaw, where someone else would take over his monitoring.
“Our understanding was he was going off Tulsa County ankle monitoring and on to ankle monitoring through the bondsman down in Sallisaw," Kunzweiler said. "If that didn’t happen, there’s going to be a lot of questions that need to be answered.”
Last week, a Tulsa County judge issued a bench warrant for Scott after he missed several checks.
“I’m at least glad that Tulsa County caught it from the SCRAM perspective because we were trying to locate him, had a warrant out for his arrest before this crime apparently happened up in New York," Kunzweiler said. "We just couldn’t, didn’t know where he was.”
Just one week later, Scott was found in New York City where officials say he turned himself in for killing Savinski. Now, neighbors bring flowers to Savinski's door to remember their friend."
“He was kind to everyone," Franck said. "When you would see him he would always smile, he would wave. He was concerned about his neighborhood.”
The trial for Scott's lewd molestation charges was supposed to begin in June, but Scott will first be prosecuted in New York on the murder charge. Kunzweiler said he won't drop the Tulsa County case and will prosecute Scott later for lewd molestation.
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