By Tim Binnall
An Oklahoma man found guilty of murdering his friend out of fear that he was being set up for a Sasquatch sacrifice was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole at a rather fiery hearing this week. Larry Sanders spawned worldwide headlines back in July of 2022 when he killed his fishing buddy, Jimmy Knighten, and then told police that he did so because he believed that the victim had summoned Bigfoot to eat him. At an equally weird trial this past April, he continued to insist that there were three Bigfoot at the scene of the crime and was subsequently found guilty. On Tuesday, Sanders finally learned his fate at a sentencing hearing that was decidedly 'on brand' for the strange Sasquatch case.
During the proceedings, Sanders reportedly remained steadfast in his account of the deadly event and declared that "a higher power and ancient influences" were why he was found guilty. He also insisted that Knighton "was a victim of his own actions," by way of the alleged Bigfoot summoning that ultimately led to his death. The hearing then got heated when prosecutor Tara Portillo put forward the state's argument for sentencing and, in the process, read several tweets about the curious case. This led to Sanders erupting "what does that have to do with anything," followed by an expletive and "I don't want to hear any of this. This is ignorant."
Although the judge instructed him to quiet down, Sanders continued to grouse about Portillo's presentation, resulting in him being removed from the courtroom while still talking trash to the prosecutor. When finally allowed to continue, she explained that the purpose of reading the tweets was to show how Knighton's Bigfoot-inspired death was the subject of considerable ridicule that was particularly hurtful to his family. In one final act of defiance, Sanders rebuffed the opportunity to return to the court room to hear the judge had down his sentence of life without the possibility of parole, telling his attorneys just to take him back to jail, where he will presumably be spending the rest of his days.