Man accused of strangling mom of 3 says ‘last words’ were about her kids, OK cops say

A man is accused of killing a woman he had just met, then dumping her body alongside a lake a day later, Oklahoma cops say.

More than a week after the body of Charissia Dawn Akers was discovered at Lake Thunderbird in Norman, a 30-year-old man confessed to killing the mother of three, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Austin Blake Godwin is charged with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a body in her death.

Authorities said Godwin went to the Norman Police Department on Feb. 21 — eight days after Akers’ body was discovered — and told cops he wanted to confess to the killing.

Godwin was driving home on Feb. 12 when he saw Akers walking down the street near his apartment, the affidavit states.

For unknown reasons, Akers got into Godwin’s vehicle. Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn noted to KFOR that they were strangers before the encounter.

The 29-year-old woman took a shower at Godwin’s apartment and was wearing a towel when she came out of his bathroom, according to the affidavit. Godwin told authorities he tried to have sex with Akers, but she refused.

Godwin said he grew “frustrated and grabbed a rope,” per the affidavit. He put the rope around the mother’s neck, strangling her, police said. He strangled her for about four minutes until she was unconscious, and then continued for another minute, according to the affidavit.

“(Akers’) last words were about her children,” police said, according to Godwin’s interview.

The next morning, Godwin purchased a large tote at Walmart, authorities said. He went home and wrapped Akers in blankets, putting her body inside the tote, the affidavit states.

Knowing the area around Lake Thunderbird was secluded, he traveled there and dumped Akers’ body near bushes.

“Godwin wanted (Akers) to have a view of the lake,” police said.

Two bicyclists discovered the tote and the woman’s body inside it later that day, according to the bureau of investigation. In a news release on Feb. 14, authorities called her death “suspicious.”

Mashburn told KFOR the case is “very unusual.”

“What you usually don’t see in homicide cases are stranger murders,” he said, per KFOR. “Usually the parties know each other, have a relationship of some sort. The fact that the body of this young lady was put in totes and placed into a rural area also makes it very unusual. All of those things kind of makes this case stand out a little bit.”

Akers, according to an online obituary, was a 29-year-old mother of three and an “avid supporter of child trafficking awareness.”

“Charissia loved and cared for many friends and family in her life and will be dearly missed,” the obituary said.

This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Man accused of strangling mom of 3 says ‘last words’ were about her kids, OK cops say."