Woodward, OK — A disturbing series of events has led to the arrest of three individuals in Woodward County following a child sexual abuse investigation and a retaliatory shooting, according to a press release from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).
On June 12, the Mooreland Police Department requested assistance from the OSBI after a 16-month-old child was brought to a local hospital with serious injuries. The child’s mother, 31-year-old Krista Fizer, reported discovering the injuries and stated the child had been in the care of her boyfriend, 35-year-old Tyler Valdez.
Medical staff initiated a pediatric sexual assault exam, which confirmed the injuries were the result of trauma. The case was immediately opened as a suspected child abuse investigation.
Just two days later, on June 14, OSBI agents were called again—this time by the Woodward County Sheriff’s Office—to investigate a shooting at Valdez’s Mooreland residence. Authorities say Valdez was injured when multiple shots were fired at the home around 5:30 a.m. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Investigators discovered that Fizer had made threatening posts on Facebook and used other forms of communication to threaten Valdez. They also learned that after the child’s hospital release, Fizer physically assaulted Valdez prior to the shooting. OSBI determined that Fizer and 32-year-old Wayland Martin were both in the area at the time of the shooting.
Fizer and Martin were interviewed, arrested, and booked into the Woodward County Jail. Fizer faces charges including two counts of Shooting with Intent to Kill, Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon, Violation of a Protective Order Resulting in Great Bodily Injury, and Threatening an Act of Violence. Martin faces two counts of Shooting with Intent to Kill and the same protective order violation charge.
On June 25, OSBI shared the child’s case with the University of Oklahoma Medical Center’s Child Protection Team, who confirmed the injuries were consistent with abuse. Valdez was then arrested and charged with Sexual Abuse of a Child Under 12. He remains in custody at the Woodward County Jail.
OSBI says the investigation is ongoing.
