Trump-Backed Oklahoma Senate Candidate Found Shot Dead

The mysterious death of an Oklahoma Republican running for state Senate has taken another dramatic turn after the medical examiner ruled he died by suicide — a conclusion his grieving family is publicly challenging.

Barry Christian, 54, a Trump-supporting Republican candidate for Oklahoma’s District 38 Senate seat, was found dead inside his crashed pickup truck near the Texas border on April 30.

Christian suffered a gunshot wound to the head, and the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner listed his manner of death as suicide in a preliminary report released this week, according to a copy obtained by NonDoc.

But Christian’s relatives say they aren’t convinced — and they’re raising serious questions about the circumstances surrounding his death and the investigation that followed.

Christian’s body was discovered after a hunter spotted a pickup truck that had crashed into a ravine off Highway 30 near the Sandy Sanders Wildlife Refuge in western Oklahoma.

He had already been reported missing after failing to show up for a meeting on April 28.

Now, more than three months after his death, Christian’s family says the official suicide finding doesn’t match what they claim investigators previously told them.

His ex-wife, Farrah Christian, unleashed her frustration in a fiery Facebook post, accusing the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation of badly mishandling the case.

“I am very emotional writing this, but I’m done being quiet. I’m extremely angry. The OSBI has botched this investigation,” she wrote.

Farrah pointed to one detail in particular that she believes deserves more scrutiny: Christian was reportedly right-handed, while the family says the fatal shot was fired using his left hand.

“Barry was right-handed,” she wrote. “He ‘allegedly’ shot himself with his left hand.”

The family also claims Christian’s pickup truck had several bullet holes in it when it was discovered.

According to Farrah, investigators considered whether the unusual scene may have been deliberately staged and theorized that Christian could have shot at his own truck before turning the weapon on himself.

But she questioned that scenario, claiming authorities tested Christian’s left hand and sleeve for gunshot residue but did not test his right side.

“They think he shot his truck before turning the gun on himself,” she wrote. “Funny thing is, they did not test his right hand or sleeve for gunshot residue, only the left. So why would he shoot up his truck with his left hand?”

Farrah went even further, alleging that OSBI officials had told the family the scene appeared staged.

“The OSBI even TOLD US they know it was staged,” she claimed.

She then accused Oklahoma officials and law enforcement of corruption and suggested without providing evidence that money may have influenced the investigation.

Those claims have not been substantiated, and the medical examiner’s preliminary finding remains suicide.

Christian’s daughter, Neleh Christian, also spoke out following the release of the report Tuesday night, saying she refuses to simply accept the conclusion without answers.

“I will not quietly accept my father’s name being attached to a conclusion that I believe is inconsistent with the circumstances surrounding his death and with what our family has been told throughout this investigation,” she wrote on Facebook.

Neleh said the family had previously been told authorities were investigating the death as a possible homicide.

She also stressed that the medical examiner’s determination and the OSBI criminal investigation are separate processes.

“Oklahoma law can allow certain summary information, including the manner of death, to become public while a criminal investigation is still ongoing,” she wrote.

“That may explain how a suicide determination could be released while OSBI continues investigating a possible homicide. It does not answer why suicide was determined in the first place.”

Neleh also questioned the Oklahoma medical examiner’s troubled history.

The office regained national accreditation last year after operating for roughly 15 years without it amid problems including deteriorating facilities and inadequate staffing, according to KOCO.

Still, Christian’s daughter insisted the family’s questions aren’t about pushing a political conspiracy.

“This is not about politics. This is not about creating a conspiracy. This is about my dad,” she wrote.

“Barry was a father. A grandfather. A brother. A best friend. He was a human being whose life and death deserve to be treated with extraordinary care.”

Christian had been campaigning as a Republican for Oklahoma Senate District 38, a sprawling western Oklahoma district, before his sudden death.

For his family, the preliminary suicide ruling has hardly brought closure.

Instead, they say the bullet-riddled truck, questions about Christian’s dominant hand and what they claim investigators told them about the scene have left them demanding a more thorough explanation of exactly what happened in the final days of his life.