Father Of Hostage Victim Shot To Death In SE OKC Speaks Out

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said officers were called to the Plaza Inn Motel near S.E. 29th and I-35 in reference to a woman who was claiming to have been kidnapped. When police arrived on the scene, Shane Rhea, 39, allegedly opened fire through a motel door, hitting two officers.

Thursday, October 9th 2014, 7:48 pm

By: News 9


New details have been released in the deadly officer-involved shooting along I-35, Wednesday, where five people, including two police officers were shot.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said officers were called to the Plaza Inn Motel near S.E. 29th and I-35 in reference to a woman who was claiming to have been kidnapped. When police arrived on the scene, Shane Rhea, 39, allegedly opened fire through a motel door, hitting two officers.

Sgt. Cody Koelsch and Sgt. Grant Brooks were both injured, but are expected to be OK.

According to investigators, Sgt. Clint Music then fired into the motel room, but did not hit anyone. Rhea allegedly took a female hostage, at that point, and ran out onto I-35.

"He held the woman from behind with his arm around her neck as he was using her as a shield," Nelson said.

When officers confronted Rhea, it turned deadly.

"He fired, killing the female," Nelson said.

10/9/2014 Related Story: New Details On Deadly Shootout In Southeast Oklahoma City

MSgt. Jeff Locke then shot Rhea, who is now in the hospital in critical condition. The woman Rhea allegedly shot and killed has not been identified yet by police, but a grieving father says he has no doubt it's his daughter, 30-year-old Samantha Monden.

The father, Sam, asked that we only use his first name to protect the rest of his family from any further violence.

"Why her?" Sam asked, shocked that huis daughter could have been the victim of a hostage situation. "I wish it hadn't happened."

Oklahoma City Police are also trying to sort out how everyone knew each other and why Samantha was at the Plaza Inn Motel.

Sam said he does not have any knowledge of how she was connected to Shane Rhea, or the other suspects, Bonnie Boen and Erik Patterson, arrested on outstanding warrants. Instead, he reiterated that his daughter had so much to live for. Monden was a wife, and a mother of two, ages 4 and 5.

"I don't even want to try to tell my grandbabies that their momma is gone," Sam cried.

He said it's been painful enough working with detectives to determine if his daughter was the woman shot and killed.

"I kept praying on the way up there that it wasn't her, for God to please let her be OK."

But he said after giving police a description of her tattoo, the officers told him the horrible news. Still in disbelief, Sam said he called his daughter's phone Thursday morning just to hear her voice.

"I expected her to pick up the phone," he said.

10/8/2014 Related Story: One Killed, Two Police Officers Wounded After Gun Battle In SE OKC

Instead, he was left with only a memory of their last phone call, just a few days before the shooting.

"We shared our ‘I love you's' and hung up the phone."

Sam said he never expected it would be the last time.

“Parents are not supposed to bury their children."

In the wake of Monden's murder, the family established a fund to help her two children. Donations can be made at any Banc First in the name of 'Samantha Monden Benefit'.

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