Murder charges against Brooks dropped with his health cited as reason

On Jan. 19, the Stephens County District Attorney's office requested to dismiss without prejudice a second murder trial in the case of defendant James Kyle Brooks, 43. The court granted the dismissal, according to public records, Jan. 23.

Thursday, Feb. 1, Undersheriff Rick Lang contacted The Review and said Brooks had been hospitalized. He was in the county jail, but Lang said, his health declined rapidly.

To dismiss a case without prejudice allows the State to refile the charge at any time in the future.

Brooks is accused of murdering his father, Timothy Brooks, 52, of Marlow, in 2012. The charge was not filed for six years, until 2018, when he was arrested. Originally it appeared Timothy Brooks may have committed suicide. Continued investigation indicated that his son may have staged the alleged crime scene to appear as such, but a $500,000 life insurance policy that the defendant had secured may have been the reason. In 2019, the first trial resulted in a hung jury after six hours of deliberation.

The court document provided by the District Attorney’s office states, “The court specifically finds that the medical condition of the defendant is such that it is not expected that he will recover in a reasonable period of time and as such, this case cannot proceed.”

The Marlow Review covered the initial arrest of Brooks, and it can be found in our online newsprint editions (paid subscribers only) March 22, 2018.