Naman Shrestha
Jerry Bailey was an established football head coach at Sapulpa High School, inspiring his team and other students on campus. So, when he suddenly vanished from the school campus, tensions arose in the entire community. His loved ones’ worst nightmares came true when he was found dead a few miles away from Sapulpa in January 1976. All the intricate details of the case and the investigation that ensued are covered in Investigation Discovery’s ‘Murder Under the Friday Night Lights: Guilt Will Get You,’ with the help of exclusive and in-depth interviews with the deceased man’s family and friends.
Jerry Bailey Died Shortly After His Resignation From Sapulpa High School
Hailing from Broken Bow, Oklahoma, Jerry Roy Bailey was the beloved son of Clarence Obie and Willie Rhea Bailey. Born on December 18, 1941, he grew up in a loving and supportive household with his siblings, Kenneth Gene Bailey and Sandra Nell Bailey Heath, as his parents ran multiple local businesses, including a Western Auto Store, a Texaco station, and the Bailey Coffee Shop. While attending Southeastern State College, Jerry was an integral part of the college’s football team. After graduation, he landed a coaching job at Nowata High School, where he led the team to a Class 2A state championship in his second year as head coach.
In 1971, he landed at Sapulpa High School, where he served as head coach and teacher. Jerry was married to Beverly Sue Edwards, a faculty member at Sapulpa High School. However, unable to lead the team to any major championship, he resigned from his position in December 1975 and looked forward to getting a job at another high school. However, fate intervened and shattered his dreams of a future. On the fateful morning of January 22, 1976, when Jerry failed to show up at the school, the administration called 911 and reported him missing. As the police launched a search for the missing 34-year-old coach, they found some bloody papers belonging to him on the side of the road, about 30 miles away from Sapulpa.
The following morning, around 10:30 am, a news reporter aboard a helicopter canvassing the Bixby area in Tulsa County noticed an abandoned car near an old farmhouse at 131st and 145th East Avenue. Upon noticing blood on the rear bumper of the vehicle, the detectives opened the trunk of the car to find Jerry’s remains. The autopsy revealed that he was stabbed a total of 21 times, out of which about seven of them turned out to be fatal. Thus, a homicide investigation was immediately launched to apprehend the perpetrator.
Jerry Bailey’s Killer Was Found Near His Remains
The authorities learned that the car in which Jerry Bailey’s remains were found belonged to his assistant coach, Paul “Buck” Reagor Jr., who had also been missing. In fact, Jerry was last seen leaving the school campus with Paul in his car on the fateful morning of January 22, 1976. The detectives then entered the nearby farmhouse to search for evidence. Unexpectedly, they instead found Paul lying down on a mattress with blood stains on his shirt. After determining that he was alive, the investigators noticed a few small cuts on his hands and fingers. As for the blood on his shirt, it belonged to Jerry.
When they confronted Paul, he reportedly said, “I guess what I did was wrong.” The suspect claimed that he and Jerry were driving down Mingo Road on January 22 towards the farmhouse when Paul pulled over and lured the head coach to the trunk of the car. That’s when the assistant coach attacked him with a large butcher knife, which he had been keeping under his seat for 2-3 weeks. According to investigative reports, Paul was furious that another coach was set to take over as head coach after Jerry’s resignation. He allegedly blamed Jerry for messing him over and not recommending him for the job. Thus, Paul was arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of Jerry Bailey.
Paul Reagor Passed Away Before He Could Begin His Prison Term
Paul Reagor pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and pursued an insanity defense. As a result, the judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation, resulting in him being in and out of mental institutions. During his trial in 1977, the defense claimed that he was insane during the commission of the crime, while the prosecution argued that the defendant knew what he was doing as he had been keeping the murder weapon in his car for weeks prior to the murder. After deliberating for about 90 minutes, the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced him to 10 years to life in prison. Soon, Paul filed an appellate bond and awaited a ruling from the Court of Appeals, while remaining out of jail on a $35,000 bond.
The convict lived with his mother as his wife filed for divorce and relocated to another state with their children. Soon, he reportedly landed a job at a roofing company. However, after getting involved in an accident in January 1979, when he was hit by a semi-tractor-trailer on a highway near his mother’s residence, he stopped working. Paul’s appeal argued that the officers failed to properly advise him of his right against self-incrimination, which should have ideally rendered his confession inadmissible at trial. The defense also underlined the state’s alleged failure to prove Paul’s premeditation or insanity. Before he could even begin serving his sentence, Paul died of natural causes on July 1, 1980, at the age of 37.
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