Wendy Camp Case: Custody Killings and 2013 Septic Pit Discovery

The Wendy Camp case is a 1992 Oklahoma triple homicide in which 23-year-old Wendy Camp, her six-year-old daughter Cynthia Britto, and her 22-year-old sister-in-law Lisa Renee Kregear disappeared after a court-related child custody visit and were found 21 years later buried in a septic tank pit in Pawnee County. Only Wendy’s former mother-in-law, Beverly Noe, was ever convicted, and she served roughly three years as an accessory before dying in 2023.

The Custody Fight Behind the Killings

Wendy married Chad Noe in 1987, shortly before their son Jonathan was born. Within months, she fell into a coma and was diagnosed with severe multiple sclerosis, spending nearly a year hospitalized and two years in physical therapy learning to eat and walk again.¹ About seven months into that hospitalization, Chad filed for divorce and was awarded primary custody, arguing Wendy could not help raise the child. Her family later said she was too sick to fight it.²

Chad’s mother, Beverly Noe, became Jonathan’s primary caretaker and kept Wendy’s family away from the boy. After Wendy recovered and remarried Leon Camp, she pursued court-ordered visitation. Chad accused Leon of molesting Jonathan, an allegation that could not be proven, and used it to cut off visits. A court cited him for contempt and ordered visitation restored, but he continued blocking access for more than six months.¹ Wendy’s sister, Aisha Hashmi, later called it a “custody battle from hell.”²

What Happened on May 29, 1992

Chad unexpectedly offered Wendy a visit with Jonathan at his home in Shamrock, Oklahoma, about 115 miles from Oklahoma City. Leon didn’t trust the Noes and asked his sister, Lisa Kregear, to travel with Wendy and six-year-old Cynthia. Beverly Noe and her mother, Ida Prewitt, drove the three women to Shamrock.¹

Beverly told police she drove them partway home afterward, stopped at a Walmart in Chandler, and ordered them out of the vehicle, believing they’d find their own ride. That was the last anyone claimed to see them. Wendy’s family filed a missing-persons report the next day.³ Investigators couldn’t verify Beverly’s story. The Walmart she named had no surveillance cameras and no employees remembered the women. Ida gave nearly the same account when questioned separately.²

Twenty-One Years Without Bodies

The case went cold fast. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation had no physical evidence and no remains. Community members in Shamrock told authorities Chad Noe had bragged about killing the three women and said no one would find the bodies, but investigators couldn’t build a case on those reports.¹ Ida Prewitt died in 2011 without ever adding to what she’d told police.⁴

The 2013 Discovery in a Septic Pit

In 2013, Grover Prewitt Jr., Beverly Noe’s brother, contacted police. He said he believed the victims were buried in a hole on property near Jennings, Oklahoma, that had belonged to his mother. The hole had originally been dug for a septic tank.³

OSBI investigators began excavating on April 15, 2013, and recovered skeletal remains about eight feet down the following day.⁵²

According to a court affidavit, Grover told investigators that after the women vanished, his mother Ida had instructed him to fill the hole and sprinkle black pepper on the ground to mask the odor and deter dogs.⁵ DNA testing on January 10, 2014, confirmed the remains were those of Wendy Camp, Cynthia Britto, and Lisa Kregear. The medical examiner found all three had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, with indications of stab wounds as well.²

Who Was Charged, and What Happened

Prosecutors alleged that Beverly Noe acted with her mother, Ida Prewitt, to kill Wendy so Beverly could continue raising Jonathan, and that Cynthia and Lisa were killed to eliminate witnesses.⁶

Beverly Noe

Beverly was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder.⁷ In January 2015, she pleaded no contest to three counts of accessory to first-degree murder, and the original murder counts were dropped. She did not admit guilt. She was 67 at the time and was sentenced to 30 years, split 15 in prison and 15 on probation.⁸ She was released after roughly three years, reportedly due to her age and declining health.²

Aisha Hashmi described the family’s reaction as mixed. “Twenty-one years is enough to deal with this. I was ready to put it behind me and just move on and just hand it on to God,” she said.⁹

Grover Prewitt Jr.

Grover was arrested days after the remains were found and charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, with bond set at $500,000. He pleaded not guilty and cooperated with investigators, including wearing a wire to record conversations with Beverly Noe’s sister.¹⁰¹¹ On September 16, 2015, a Creek County judge dismissed the case, ruling that the three-year statute of limitations in effect for accessory after the fact in 1992 barred the 2013 charges. Unlike his sister, Grover had not waived that defense in any plea deal.¹²

Ida Prewitt and Chad Noe

Ida Prewitt was never charged; she died in 2011.⁴ Chad Noe was never charged despite the community reports about his statements. He told police he believed the custody visit had gone well, and OSBI agent Marty Wilson said Chad “was shown to be truthful in his responses” on a polygraph.²

Where the Case Stands

Beverly Sue Noe died on October 13, 2023, in Tulsa at 76. Her obituary did not specify a cause of death.¹³ She remains the only person ever convicted in connection with the deaths of Wendy Camp, Cynthia Britto, and Lisa Kregear. With Ida Prewitt dead before charges could be brought, Grover Prewitt’s case dismissed on statute-of-limitations grounds, and Chad Noe never charged, no further legal accountability is on the horizon.

1
Unsolved.com. Missing In-Laws
2
Oxygen. Murders of Wendy Camp, Christina Britto, and Lisa Kregear
3
News9. One Arrested, Remains Found in Oklahoma 1992 Triple Homicide
4
The Oklahoman. Husband Takes Long Road Back to God After His Oklahoma City Wife’s Disappearance in 1992
5
USA Today. Arrest in 1992 Cold Case
6
Southwest Times Record. Three Murdered in 1992
7
News9. Beverly Noe
8
Fox23. Family Member of Victims Have Mixed Emotions After Plea
9
NEWSON6. Woman Accepts Plea Deal in 1992 Creek County Triple Murder
10
Public Radio Tulsa. Hearing Rescheduled in Oklahoma Cold Case
11
WTKR. Bodies Found in 21-Year-Old Oklahoma Cold Case
12
NEWSON6. Creek County Judge Dismisses Accessory Case in 1992 Murders
13
Bristow News. Beverly Sue Noe