Oklahoma man reportedly cites Bigfoot as reason he had to kill his friend

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation claims that a man in custody for first-degree murder said he had to kill his friend because his friend had "summoned Bigfoot" to kill him first.

According to investigators, Larry Sanders, 53, confessed first to a family member then to police that he killed his friend Jimmy Knighten while the two were out fishing.

Pontotoc County Sheriff John Christian told reporters that Sanders said in a statement that "Mr. Knighten had summoned ‘Bigfoot’ to come and kill him, and that’s why he had to kill Mr. Knighten.”

Sanders said that on July 9, he and Knighten had gone to the South Canadian River in Ada, Oklahoma, to go "noodling," a fishing technique which involves using one's own hand as bait in order to catch catfish. It's rather common in many southern and heartland states, including Oklahoma.

At some point during the noodling expedition, Sanders allegedly struck and strangled Knighten.

Christian said that while Sanders' confession alarmed police, they could not arrest him at the time he made it because Knighten's body had not yet surfaced.

“You still have to prove all the elements of the crime, and what the suspect is telling you, you have to prove that that’s actually what happened,” Christian said.

While they began a search for Knighten, police booked Sanders on an outstanding warrant so that they could hold him. They found Knighten's body later the next day. A medical examiner still needs to make a determination about the cause of death, but police have charged Sanders with first-degree murder.

Christian also reported that Sanders "appeared to be under the influence of something" when he spoke with police. According to OSBI, Sanders remains in the Pontotoc County Jail.

A Facebook user named Tanya Knighten, who claims to be the victim's sister, responded with a heartbreaking message to the OSBI post about her brother's death.

"It’s hard enough that my brother lost his life my nieces and nephews no longer have a father and the person who did this has children also there is nothing funny about any of this people are hurting here our lives are turned upside down and people on here making jokes I just pray that this never happens to any of you and you have to go through this see all these comments of making fun of people you take a lesson of if you don’t have anything good to say keep your mouth shut," Tanya Knighten wrote.

Ada is a small city of about 15,000 people, located approximately 80 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.

H/T: Daily Beast