52 Lock Up: BigFoot, Meth & the loss of Jimmy Knighen

Welcome back to 52 Lock Up, I am your Appletini Cadma of Bitten Apple TV. 52 lock up is a series I started to talk about one of my biggest passions of true crime. A new episode on every Cadmaniac Monday for 52 Mondays, 52 crimes. Hope you guys enjoy, be sure to like, leave some feedback and subscribe; Viewer discretion is always advised.

Today’s episode we’re dealing Big Foot, yes…I said Big Foot. We are not hear to discuss your beliefs or non beliefs and for those are believers and non-believers; do not fight in the comment section. I’m a fan of emotionally intelligent discussions and providing what you’re using to support your beliefs; and of course open minded reciprocation.

Let’s travel down to Oklahoma where we meet 53 year old Larry Sanders and his friend Jimmy Knighten. Larry was born in February of 1969 in Oklahoma. Larry Sanders spent much of his life veering off the straight path. He would frequently get into trouble with the law over drugs. According to Oklahoman reports there were even two outstanding warrants related to unpaid fines in two drug-related cases. He was place on a five year probation in 2019 because he brought methamphetamine to jail after being arrested for public intoxication.

Let’s discuss Jimmy for a little bit now, Jimmy Glenn Knighten was born on April 15, 1970 in Allen, Oklahoma to parents Della Knighten and Glenn Knighten. He had a knack and passion for working with cars. After he graduated from Allen High School he went on to become self-employed at a Frame and Body Shop for up to 15 years. Jimmy had a love for hiking and being in the outdoors. His favorite hobbies included fishing, hunting, riding four-wheelers and most of all drinking beer around a big bonfire. He was known for his consistent kindness. Friends and family would say there wasn’t a person he wouldn’t give the shirt off his back for. He would meet his wife Stacey Kelley and they would have children. Their daughters Krestyn Knighten and Kimberly Knighten and their sons Airyn and Brayden Knighten. Unfortunately, the marriage would not work out after 20 years but they still remained to be very close.

Over the years Larry and Jimmy would become friends and their kids would begin dating; eventually developing into a serious relationship. However, Larry struggled with his drinking and taking methamphetamine; which is a stimulant. Meth rapidly increases the known happy hormone dopamine for the brain to stimulate pleasure. Dopamine is known for its notable involvement in the brain’s reward system; this can come from sex, shopping or even smelling cookies baking like in the cartoons.

Swedish pharmacologist and neuroscientist Arvid Carlsson won the Nobel prize in 2000 for his research on dopamine, showing its importance in brain function. He helped show that the neurotransmitter is heavily involved in the motor system. Did you know that when the brain fails to produce enough dopamine, it can result in Parkinson’s disease. The primary treatment for Parkinson’s disease is a drug called L-dopa, which spurs the production of dopamine. Dopamine has also been implicated in schizophrenia and ADHD; the brain systems underlying these conditions (as well as substance abuse disorder) are complex. Dopamine is easily oxidized. Foods that are rich in antioxidants, such as fruits and vegetables, may help protect dopamine-using neurons from free radical damage.

Larry is seeking that affect by using meth. When the neurons in the region at the base of the brain produce dopamine it is down in a two-step process. First, the amino acid tyrosine is converted into another amino acid, called L-dopa; like the medication for Parkinson’s disease. Then L-dopa undergoes another change with enzymes turning it into dopamine. As a side note for those who may have low levels of dopamine remember that because dopamine is made from tyrosine and adding more of the amino acid from food could potentially boost dopamine levels in the brain. Studies have shown that a diet rich in tyrosine also may improve memory and mental performance; so try some chicken, soy, bananas, avocados, sesame seeds, yogurt and my personal favorite pumpkin seeds.

Enough with the science class and let’s go back to methamphetamine, this creates a temporary feeling of euphoria but due to drug abuse creating irregularly large amounts of dopamine that it completely alters the brain’s functions. The brain begins to repeat the need for those abnormal large doses. Dopamine is not stored in the body so when the levels drop it causes the brain to become overstimulated looking for it’s stimulant. Over time continued use of meth abuse will severely damage dopamine and serotonin neurons which does affect how a person feels, acts and thinks. Severe damage to these neurons means a user will experience depression, hallucinations and paranoia; like the paranoid beliefs that led Larry to do what he will do July 9th 2022.

Prior to July 9th 2022 Larry and Jimmy had gotten into an argument about Big Foot. Early July the continue to make plans to head out into the outdoors and Larry and Jimmy decided to go noodling in the South Canadian River; which for those who may not know noodling is the art of trying to catch fish with your barehands. They were in the river on July 8th 2022 and by July 9th 2022 Larry would get into another argument with Jimmy about big foot again. Larry got it into his head that Jimmy was essentially working with Big Foot to feed Larry to him.

For those who may not know who Bigfoot is Bigfoot is also referred to as Sasquatch and is supposed to be a large, hairy, humanlike creature believed by some people to exist in the northwestern United States and western Canada. It seems to represent the North American counterpart of the Himalayan region’s mythical monster, the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti. The British explorer David Thompson is sometimes credited with the first discovery (1811) of a set of Sasquatch footprints, and hundreds of alleged prints have been adduced since then. Visual sightings and even alleged photographs and filming (notably by Roger Patterson at Bluff Creek, California, in 1967) have also contributed to the legend, though none of the purported evidence has been verified. If you’re curious about more, google Big Foot sightings.

This is where the meth feeds into his paranoid beliefs. During their physical altercation Jimmy would unfortunately be struck in the head, strangled and drowned in the river. Larry would be so freaked out that he would run home to his daughter without her future father-in-law and tell her a panicked story of what happened. His daughter would call law enforcement immediately and described Larry as “frantic” and how Jimmy was trying to feed him to Big Foot; he even told the same story to Jimmy’s son/his daughter’s boyfriend. Larry would also mention firing two shots from a pistol as well.

Larry would fully cooperate with the officers and make a full confession and even draw a map for investigators to find his body. After 24 hours of searching through the woods, they would find Jimmy’s remains. While the officers were taking to him they stated he seemed as thought he was under the influence while he was being questioned and couldn’t sit still. Larry was not subjected to any drug tests; which seems like that would be incredibly important to know officially; we can only speculate that it was meth due to his past even though no blood tests were performed.

The drug test is a big miss because the effects of meth can last between 8-24 hours and still be detected for up to 72 hours in the urine and 90 days in the hair. Research suggests that the half-life of meth is about 12-34 hours. However, a person will feel the effects of the drug anywhere from eight to 24 hours after use. For people who use large amounts of meth, the drug can stay in the blood for up to ten days, which means any drug test administered will show positive. There was still time to complete the test and it was not completed; when it should have been. Meth does not excuse their actions but it does provide answers for the law, for Larry and Jimmy’s loved ones; because remember these guys were not only friends but also would have become a family through potential marriage. Did you know that in 2018 it was estimated that 1.9 million American aged as young as 12 and older had used methamphetamine.

He was being held at the Pontotoc County detention facility until his court date on July 26 2022 but a deeper investigation has to be done.

As a side Sabes Que kind of moment about Oklahoma State Representative Justin Humphrey established a Bigfoot hunting season which was primarily intended to draw tourists to southeast Oklahoma and not to bag the fabled creature. It’s called the Humphrey's House Bill 1648 that would direct the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to establish the annual dates of a Bigfoot season and create any necessary specific hunting licenses and fees. Humphrey said he would like to see a $25,000 bounty for the live capture of a Bigfoot.

If you know anyone who is using meth, it is not anyone’s place to judge them but rather try to find a way to help them. At some point the drug will destroy the neurons for the dopamine and serotonin, it will alter their brain in such a drastic way that makes them very dangerous to those around them. Contact SAMHSA National Helpine 1-800-662-4357 which is also know as the Treatment Referral Routing Service Line. You can also call 1-800-487-4889 which is a free, confidential 24-hours-a-day, 365-days a year line for information for individuals, family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. Visit their website samhsa.gov

Stay Safe!

References

https://nypost.com/2022/07/14/oklahoma-man-larry-doil-sanders-arrested-for-killing-friend-jimmy-knighten/

https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/what-larry-sanders-do-oklahoma-man-claims-bigfoot-made-kill-friend

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oklahoma-man-arrested-alleged-slaying-fisherman-fear-eaten-bigfoot-aut-rcna38065

https://allthatsinteresting.com/larry-sanders-jimmy-knighten

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/oklahoma-man-murdered-noodling-partner-who-summoned-bigfoot-to-come-and-kill-him-sheriff/

https://www.oscn.net/dockets/GetPartyRecord.aspx?db=pontotoc&cn=CF-2022-00139&id=212326

https://ktul.com/news/local/oklahoma-man-arrested-outside-ada-for-bizarre-homicide

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2022/07/12/osbi-ada-oklahoma-noodler-confess-killing-fisherman-bigfoot-fears-larry-sanders/65372111007/

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/columns/2021/01/23/oklahoma-lawmaker-files-bill-to-establish-bigfoot-hunting-season-heres-why/324126007/

https://www.gofundme.com/f/jimmy-knighten-family

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/19201600/bigfoot-murder-plot-man-killed-woods-monster/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dopamine

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/dopamine-the-pathway-to-pleasure

https://www.sjrp.com/drug-and-alcohol-detox-information/stimulants/how-long-does-meth-stay-in-your-system/

https://americanaddictioncenters.org/meth-treatment/how-long-in-system

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-long-does-meth-stay-in-your-system

https://www.verywellmind.com/how-long-does-methamphetamine-stay-in-your-system-80283

https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline