Sirens | A Southern True Crime Podcast · The Sirens Network

The Sirloin Stockade Massacre

·29 min·2 clips

Roger and Harold force six workers into a freezer, then open fire with 16-year-olds inside.

1. Sirens examines the Sirloin Stockade murders in Oklahoma City and the earlier Lorenz family attack tied to the same suspects. 2. The hosts center Roger Stafford, Verna Stafford, and Harold Stafford, because their actions connect the I-35 roadside ambush to the restaurant shooting. 3. The episode asks how a robbery motive at Sirloin Stockade became a freezer massacre and how investigators linked it to June 22, 1978. 4. Melvin Lorenz, Linda Lorenz, and 12-year-old Richard Lorenz were attacked after stopping on I-35 near Purcell for a disabled-car ruse. 5. Verna Stafford testified that she, Roger Stafford, and Harold Stafford planned to lure motorists, rob them, and needed cash for housing, children, and an abortion. 6. The story then moves to July 17, 1978, when the three drove a cream-green station wagon toward Oklahoma City with pistols and drinks in the car. 7. Roger Stafford carried a Colt .357 Magnum, Harold Stafford had a Taurus .38 revolver, and Verna Stafford carried a .22 caliber Luger pistol. 8. They waited near the Sirloin Stockade on Southwest 74th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue until the manager locked the doors and the last patrons left. 9. Louis Zacharias opened the back door after Roger Stafford showed a gun, and the three suspects gathered staff before moving them toward the freezer. 10. The hosts describe the shooting of Isaac Freeman, Lewis, David Salzman, Anthony, David Lindsay, and Terry Horst inside the walk-in freezer. 11. Sergeant Lanny Mitchell's description of the scene—"blood and brains"—captures the scale of the violence. 12. The episode notes that police found only $1,290, despite the force used and the number of victims. 13. Sergeant Tom Mundy says investigators used fresh teams, found a handful of coins near a rear door, and determined that two pistols were fired at least nine times. 14. Roger Stafford later called officials himself after composite sketches were released from the Lorenz case. 15. That call helped investigators identify Verna Stafford and Harold Stafford and move the case forward. 16. Arthur Linville later said he believed the case was a "joy killing" rather than a robbery that went wrong. 17. The tone is investigative and grim, with direct narration, quoted testimony, and long case details. 18. The format mixes crime chronology, courtroom material, and the hosts' reactions to the locations and evidence. 19. Listeners interested in Oklahoma true crime and case-building details will want this. 20. Listeners wanting a light, fast-paced episode will probably skip it.

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