Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Pass | $1.99 | for 1 day |
| 3 Days Pass | $2.99 | for 3 days |
| 7 Days Pass | $5.99 | for 7 days |
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Month | $16.00 | for 30 days |
| 3 Months | $43.00 | for 90 days |
| 6 Months | $83.00 | for 180 days |
| 1 Year | $159.00 | for 365 days |
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Month | $16.00 | for 30 days |
| 3 Months | $43.00 | for 90 days |
| 6 Months | $83.00 | for 180 days |
| 1 Year | $159.00 | for 365 days |
Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription.
Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service.
DUNCAN — The husband accused of killing his wife, a Fort Sill soldier, in July 2022 is being held on $5 million bond.
Mario Mota, 35, of El Paso, Texas, made his initial appearance Monday in Stephens County District Court where he pleaded not guilty to a count of first-degree murder, deliberate intent, records indicate.
District Judge G. Brent Russell ordered the bond with conditions he have no contact with witnesses, must surrender his passports and must retain counsel. He is represented by Swain Law Group of Norman, records indicate.
An arrest warrant was issued last Thursday for Mario Mota’s arrest.
Mario Mota, an Army Drill Sergeant stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, is accused of choking or strangling Army Sgt. 1st Class Laura Mota, 33, to death. After not showing up for duty, she was found by fellow cadre member dead at the base of her off-post home stairs at 205 North N. Street in Duncan.
Laura Mota had told her husband in March 2022 of her desire to separate after almost eight years together. He would travel back and forth from his posting at El Paso, Texas, to see their children and attempt to repair their marriage, according to the affidavit. Several text messages included in the court paperwork offered insight into the separation effect on him with claims of depression and suicidal ideation. He also expressed anger and threats to ruin her career.
Investigators had learned Mario Mota had been at the home for several weeks but left to return to El Paso around 5 a.m. the day of his wife’s death. At that time, she was under investigation by the Army for having an affair with another married soldier at Fort Sill, the affidavit states.
Mario Mota spoke with Duncan police and said he didn’t know what happened to Laura Mota. He said when she’d come home shortly after midnight the morning of July 25, 2022, she smelled of alcohol. He never asked the detective what had happened to Laura Mota.
Stroberg reported in the autopsy report there was no alcohol in Laura Mota’s system at the time of death, according to the affidavit.
A preliminary hearing conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 29, records indicate.
Written by Scott Rains: scott.rains@swoknews.com.
