An Oklahoma man has learned his fate after he was accused of strangling his wife to death after he learned “she and her friends made fun of him.”
Rogers County District Judge Lara M. Russell ordered Clifton Wayne Hampton to serve life with the possibility of parole on Thursday, April 30 for the murder of his wife, Christina Hampton, according to court records.
Clifton, 51, received his sentence after he pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder. A life term in Oklahoma is 45 years, and Clifton will be required to complete at least 85 percent of his prison term before he is eligible for parole.
Investigators with the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office responded to St. Francis Hospital in Vinita, Oklahoma, regarding a “suspicious death” around 7:40 a.m. on October 2, 2025. The victim was soon identified as Christina, and officials noted she had “visible injuries, including bleeding from her nose, injuries consistent with scrapes on her knees, and injuries on or near her throat,” per Law & Crime.
Woman Accused of Fatally Shooting Husband in Head Told 911 He Shot Her Dog
Amid the investigation, officials noticed there were “inconsistencies” in the stories Clifton was telling family members, medical staff and police about his wife’s death
“He shows up with an explanation of her death that is far from the truth,” Sheriff Scott Walton told KJRH. “Husband shows up at Craig County hospital, his wife deceased, and she’s wrapped in a mattress pad. He immediately has a story, but we immediately knocked holes in that story. We were certain that this was actually a homicide.”
Clifton initially denied any domestic violence had taken place, adding that his wife asked him for a divorce the night before her death. He said they took a “short drive,” claiming that his wife “left the vehicle and went in a different direction.”
“The defendant stated he found her collapsed and injured on the roadside shortly afterward,” prosecutors wrote in a motion asking for Clifton to not be given bond, per Law & Crime. “Mr. Hampton described a version of events filled with contradictions. On the defendant’s neck, clear scratch marks were visible, which he attributed to ‘roughhousing’ with his 22-year-old son and dog.”
Clifton changed his story when he later went to authorities and “began making admissions of killing the victim,” according to prosecutors.
“The defendant stated that he had previously lied, and that he and the victim had not gone for a drive that morning,” prosecutors wrote. “Instead, the two were in bed after arguing all night, and after the victim told him that he was ‘pathetic’ and that she and her friends made fun of him, Mr. Hampton became humiliated and angry, and choked the victim while she was lying in bed.”
Clifton claimed his wife’s heart was still beating when he took her to the hospital.
Husband Charged With Murder After Claiming Wife Stabbed Herself 17 Times
“He further stated that the victim weighed around 160 pounds and was difficult to move since she was ‘dead weight,’” prosecutors wrote. “He stated that he attempted to use a green dolly and a tarp to move her body, but ended up having to drag her. The defendant attributed the victim’s nose injury and knee scrapes to his efforts at dragging her out to the vehicle. He stated that his intention for putting his hands around Christina’s throat was to ‘shut her up.’”
Christina mother, Shirley Vanderpool, read a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing, where she directly addressed her daughter’s killer.
“Although I wanted to see him. I wished he had looked at me. I wanted to go over and slap his face after my statement, but I knew I couldn’t do that, so I tried to behave myself,” she said, according to KOTV. “It’s hard to believe that, you know, 13 years ago, he promised to love and honor and protect her, and then he kills her. Just a few days before their 13th anniversary.”
