Preliminary hearing scheduled for custodial dad accused of concealing daughter's remains (Durant, Oklahoma)

This case is just bizarre. No other words for it. Custodial dad ABEL WOLF along with his wife, the stepmother, are accused of unlawful removal of a dead body (his daughter's) and concealing the remains while transporting them across state. Not a word here on whatever happened to this girl's mother. We first posted on this case last July:

http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/07/dad-stepmom-found-with-remains-of-11.html

http://www.durantdemocrat.com/view/full_story/6759955/article-Preliminary-hearing-scheduled-for-father-accused-of-concealing-daughter%E2%80%99s-remains?instance=secondary_news_left_column

Preliminary hearing scheduled for father accused of concealing daughter’s remains

DURANT — A father accused of concealing the remains of his daughter who died under unknown circumstances was scheduled for a preliminary hearing this morning.

Abel Wolf, 36, and his wife Denise Wolf, 41, who once lived on North Philadelphia Road near Bokchito, were charged in July with unlawful removal of a dead body. They are accused of hiding the remains of Mr. Wolf’s 12-year-old daughter, Cheyenne Wolf, and transporting those remains to Montana and Oregon.

Local authorities learned of the case when an Ardmore detective contacted the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office last year and said he received information that a girl may have been murdered in Bryan County approximately 14 months earlier. Sheriff’s Investigator John Bates contacted OSBI Agent David Houston.

According to investigators, Cheyenne attended Rock Creek before being withdrawn from school in 2008.

Investigators said Cheyenne was believed to have died in April 2008 from undetermined causes and her body was first buried under the porch of the North Philadelphia Road home where the family lived at the time.

Mr. Wolf, according to an affidavit, told Agent Houston that the couple agreed not to disclose Cheyenne’s death and that the remains were then transported to Montana and then to Oregon. He said that the family was having dinner in April 2008 and family members became upset because Cheyenne would not eat.

The affidavit states that Mr. Wolf said he went outside to smoke and he heard a “thump” from inside the home. Cheyenne seemed incoherent, and the next day, Mrs. Wolf told her husband that Cheyenne had died.

Authorities in Milton-Freewater, Ore., found remains believed to be Cheyenne’s stored in two plastic bins at a storage building.

The couple was arrested in July in Havre, Mont., and have been held in the Bryan County Jail since then on $500,000 bond.

During a preliminary hearing, the court hears testimony and the judge rules whether there is enough evidence against the defendant to proceed with the case. OSBI Agent Houston was expected to testify this morning.

Mrs. Wolf had also been set for a preliminary hearing today, but hers was postponed because her attorney is questioning her mental competency, according to Bryan County District Attorney Emily Redman, who said she is expected to have a competency hearing within 30 days. After that, Mrs. Wolf’s preliminary hearing is expected to be scheduled in July.

The girl’s remains have been examined but a cause of death has not been revealed. According to Redman, the recent termination of Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Collie Trant has caused a delay in trying to determine the cause of death because a written report was not completed on the autopsy.

According to Redman, the case will be assigned to another doctor. The hearing for Mr. Wolf was still being held at press time today and additional details were not available.