November 25, 2024 | By: Alexa Gonzalez

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

David Cranor remembers being three years old and watching a 1950s monster movie while his dad slept peacefully on the couch. David feared the monster on the TV and hid behind his dad to feel safe.

That is one of David’s few memories of his father, Larry Cranor. Larry was shot in his front yard on November 5, 1980, before heading to work in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He died from his injuries two days later, on November 7, 1980. David was only 5 years old; his father’s murder has never been solved.

At the time, law enforcement could not identify a motive or suspect(s). Larry was only 23 when he died.

Larry was a hardworking man. He spent most of his time growing up working on his family’s beef cattle farm. He was raised in Bartlesville, where he played football for his high school team. Right out of school he married his high school sweetheart. They began having children right away. The couple had two more sons together after David was born: J.R. and John, who were 1 and 3 at the time of Larry’s death. Larry worked in the electrical shop for a pump manufacturing company at the time of his death.

David’s memories of his dad are sparse. He was at home the day of his father’s murder, and over the years has pieced together little by little what he remembers of that day. “I remember when I heard the gunshots, I woke up and thought my dad was outside doing target practice. I remember running outside to see him sitting up in his truck with the door open, and he told me to go back inside. I ran back to bed, and the next thing I remembered was waking up at my uncle’s house,” said David. The only tattoo David has is the date of his father’s passing. “I’m scarred on the outside like I am on the inside,” he said. He relives the moment at least once every day, even after 43 years.

David’s childhood was rough from there on out. He remembers being paranoid growing up. “I was afraid to be outside,” he said. As he approached his teen years, his fear turned to anger. Because of this, he learned how to fight. He wanted to be able to defend himself but also hoped he would one day find justice for his father. “I wanted vengeance,” he said.

Although he doesn’t have many memories of his dad, almost everyone in the small town of Bartlesville knew him. “So many people in the community said what a nice guy my dad was,” said David. David recalls there being rumors about what happened to his dad spread around by kids at school. “Some people thought it was a planned hit,” he said.

In an average year, there are 735 gun deaths in Oklahoma. The state has the 13th-highest rate of gun violence in the US, according to EveryStat.org.

David knows his father’s murder might never be solved. But he holds out hope. “I don’t care who it is. I just want someone to pay,” said David.

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Anyone with information concerning Larry G. Cranor’s murder is asked to call the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-522-8017. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call Crime Stoppers of Bartlesville/Washington County at (918) 336-2583.

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