N. Fork murderer up for parole hearing

An Oklahoma man convicted in Flathead County District Court of the brutal 1979 murder of Roy Cooper is scheduled to appear Tuesday before the state Parole Board.

Cooper’s family members and friends have campaigned against the 59-year-old J.R. Fletcher’s release from prison at past parole hearings, the most recent of which was in 2006.

Fletcher, who was convicted of deliberate homicide, was sentenced in September 1979 to 100 years in prison.

Fletcher, his wife and another man were attempting to flee to Canada when their truck became mired in mud in Cooper’s Polebridge-area driveway on April 7, 1979.

The three were on the run from authorities in Oklahoma, where Fletcher had broken parole before fleeing to Montana.

While Cooper tried to pull out the truck, Fletcher, Teresa Jean Fletcher, and Ronald Lloyd White conspired to steal his horses.

They were convicted of forcing Cooper, whom they had awakened to help them, to saddle his horses. Then they held Cooper at gunpoint while they broke into area homes.

Before they left, Fletcher and his co-defendants held Cooper hostage in his home while torturing and robbing him. Fletcher eventually stabbed Cooper, who died from knife wounds to his neck.

All three later were arrested after a shoot-out with law enforcement officers in Idaho.

Fletcher, who when convicted threatened to kill Cooper’s family, also was ordered to serve prison time for an October 1981 escape attempt and the possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner.

Teresa Fletcher, 56, was convicted of mitigated deliberate homicide and sentenced to 40 years in prison. White, 51, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Teresa Fletcher has since been paroled.

To send letters or comments to the parole board, write to: State of Montana Board of Pardons and Parole, 1001 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT, 59722.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com