Metro Grandmother Accused Of Killing Granddaughter Asks Judge To Represent Herself At Trial

Becky Vreeland

OKLAHOMA CITY – 

A metro grandmother accused of killing her own granddaughter had her first date with a Judge on Tuesday.

Becky Vreeland was in a Cleveland County courtroom when she asked a judge to allow her to represent herself in the murder trial.

The shackled grandmother answered just one report question following the hearing, replying “God Bless America.”

Vreeland is accused of killing 3-year-old Riley Nolan in June. The little girl’s father, and Vreeland’s son, was released just days after her body was discovered in a trashcan outside Vreeland’s home.

“I kept asking, I was like where’s Riley at where’s Riley at? And I was told she was asleep, and I said go wake her up and we ended up finding her in the recycle bin,” Riley’s father, Kyle Nolan told News 9’s Crime Tracker Jennifer Pierce in June. He added, “I never dreamed something like this could happen. I love my mom very much but I’m so angry.”

Investigators believe Riley’s body had been in the trash can for days by the time it was found by a family member.

In court, Vreeland asserted multiple times that she does not want an attorney to represent her in the first-degree murder case. Judge Brockman allowed her to file a motion to do so, but told her to look into a court appointed attorney.

News 9 Legal Analyst Irven Box tells us that self-representation is always risky, even if you are just battling a traffic ticket.

“This case is something that I can foresee that the district attorney’s office could file a bill of particular to get the death penalty. I mean this is a very heinous crime on a young child,” said Box. “They’ve had more cases than most counties, death penalty cases in Cleveland County even more than Oklahoma County.”

Becky Vreeland in shackles at Cleveland County courthouse Tuesday, July 26.