Family Seeks Justice A Year After Losing Mother & Unborn Child In Deadly Pursuit Crash

A grieving metro mother continues to seek justice and change one year after the deaths of her daughter and unborn grandson. This week marked one year since a high-speed pursuit in northeast Oklahoma City turned fatal. The crash killed 28-year-old Star Shells and her unborn baby. 

The weather on the morning of the fatal crash was much like this week. The roads were wet, and the suspect was speeding down Martin Luther King Avenue near northeast 16th Street attempting to outrun police.  

The last time 7-year-old Jace and his older brother saw their mother alive was the morning of May 24 last year. Shells dropped her boys off at school only minutes before the fatal crash. 

“If she would have been late that morning, they all would have died,” said Connie Basco, victim’s mother. 

Connie Basco lost her only daughter and her unborn grandchild in an instant. Shells was eight months pregnant with a boy. Basco still has many unanswered questions about that day. 

“It just doesn’t make any sense why the accident had to happen,” said Basco. “From where it started to where it ended.” 

Officers were in pursuit of Wacey Mikles, 39, who was driving a stolen truck. Police officials said speeds topped more than 90 miles per hour at times. The family has since filed a tort claim against the City of Oklahoma City claiming police were negligent and should have called off the pursuit due to the dangerous speeds. 

“No innocent people have to die for nothing,” said Basco. “The pursuit was what, for a truck?” 

Basco is now caring for her grandsons. She said the past year has been tough for everyone. They have dozens of pictures around the house memorializing the 28-year-old mother. 

Basco also wants police to remember Shells when they are dealing with a pursuit suspect. 

“I don’t want them to forget because what happened to her, what happened to them,” said Basco. “It should make a difference.”  

Mikles is currently in custody at the Oklahoma County Detention Center awaiting trial for double murder.