Parole denied for North Fork killer

An Oklahoma man who brutally murdered a North Fork man in 1979 was denied parole Friday.

The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole said J.R. Fletcher’s release would not be in the best interests of society.

Fletcher will not be eligible for parole again until November 2019. He is serving a 100-year sentence for torturing and killing Roy Cooper of Polebridge.

Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan spoke at Fletcher’s Nov. 25 parole hearing, asking the three-member board to deny Fletcher’s release based on the “inherent evil nature of his horrific crime.”

In the case disposition, the board told Fletcher that it believes he is a detriment to society who has not taken responsibility for his crime. It cited his plea of guilty to a “heinous murder of an elderly victim while a fugitive from justice and numerous prior felony convictions” as reasons for denying parole.

The board also received a “monumental amount” of letters and emails opposing Fletcher’s release.

Fletcher, his wife and another man were attempting to flee to Canada. The three got stuck in Cooper’s muddy driveway on April 7, 1979. They awakened Cooper, who was helping them pull the truck out when the three decided to steal Cooper’s horses.

They forced Cooper to saddle the horses and then held him at gunpoint while they burglarized other homes.

The trio — Fletcher, Teresa Jean Fletcher and Ronald L. White — held Cooper hostage in his own home while torturing and robbing him. Fletcher eventually stabbed Cooper, who died from knife wounds to his neck.

All three were later arrested after a shootout with police officers in Idaho.

Teresa Fletcher and Ronald White have been paroled.

Fletcher also threatened to kill Cooper’s family when he was convicted.