Oklahoma cold case murder suspect captured in Natchitoches Parish

NATCHITOCHES, La. (KALB) – On October 28, the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office partnered with the United States Marshal’s Fugitive Apprehension Team and arrested a Natchitoches woman wanted in connection with a 2012 cold case murder in the Pittsburgh County, Oklahoma.

NPSO said Mary K. Ballard68, was arrested without incident while at a residence in the 100 block of Sisson Road.

Mary Ballard(Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)

Ballard was transported and booked into the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center and charged with one count of out-of-state fugitive and one count of first-degree murder in connection with the Oklahoma investigation.

Ballard remains in the Natchitoches Detention Center awaiting extradition.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is the primary investigative agency.

“We have been assisting the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation with this case for the past several months. We hope this arrest brings some type of closure to the victim’s family,” said NPSO Criminal Investigations Major J. Byles.

Detectives said Ballard had been living in Natchitoches Parish for the past several years.

Background of the homicide investigation:

On September 28, 2012, the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office requested the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to investigate the suspicious disappearance of 54-year-old Barbara Durant.

Durant had not been seen or heard from since July 9, 2012. OSBI special agents and Pittsburg County deputies conducted several investigative actions; however, Durant could not be located. On February 1, 2020, the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office requested OSBI to investigate skeletal remains located in rural Wilburton, Oklahoma. Those remains were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for identification and determination of the cause and manner of death.

On February 4, 2020, the Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the remains as Durant. The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound. As the investigation continued, OSBI special agents and Pittsburg County investigators identified two suspects: Mary Ballard and Billy Thomason49. Based on information and evidence obtained, Ballard and Thomason were charged on October 25, 2024 with first degree murder through the Pittsburg County District Attorney’s Office.

Mary Ballard and Billy Thomason(Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)

On October 28, Ballard was arrested by the United States Marshals Service and the Natchitoches Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. Thomason was already in custody through the Department of Corrections on unrelated charges.

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