Raymond Washburn, a blind man who was credited with helping rescue five people from the rubble of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, has died.

He was 75. Washburn died Jan. 16 at his home in Oklahoma City, and funeral services were held for him Friday in Bristow, Oklahoma, just outside of Tulsa.

Washburn owned and operated a snack bar on the building's fourth floor when a truck bomb ripped through it on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people. In an interview recorded for the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, Washburn described how he led his customers and employees out of the building and how his ability to get around without seeing had been an advantage, the Associated Press reported.

Washburn lived in Oklahoma City for decades and is most known for his heroic acts on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. He spent several years as the owner and operator of the 4th-floor snack bar in the building through the state's Blind Vending Stand program.

Washburn was born blind, graduating from the Oklahoma School for the Blind in Muskogee.

He's credited with freeing himself and rescuing four customers and an employee from the bombing rubble and leading them out of the building using his sense of direction.

Washburn's full obituary can be found here.

This story was also posted by Ryan Love of KJRH in Tulsa, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 to recommend clemency for Julius Jones in a hearing on Monday.

They also recommended Jones’s sentence be commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The issue will now go to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt for his decision.

“Governor Stitt is aware of the Pardon and Parole Board’s vote today," Stitt's office said in a statement to KJRH on Monday.

"Our office will not offer further comment until the Governor has made a final decision,” the governor's office added.

Jones is currently serving time and has been sentenced to death for the 1999 killing of an Edmond man, Paul Howell. Over the two decades since his sentencing, Jones and his supporters have long advocated that he is innocent.

In September, with three out of five votes, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted to approve a recommendation to commute the death sentence for Jones. Approval of commutation would downgrade Jones's sentence to life in prison.

However, despite the board's vote, Jones was set an execution date in the month of November. Attorneys for Jones filed objections saying that setting an execution date is "inappropriate" without a decision from the governor.

Stitt has since stated that he won't make a decision on commuting Jones's death sentence until after a clemency hearing is held.

According to the Associated Press, inmates on death row, including Jones, had their execution dates put on hold after a botched lethal injection left an inmate writing in pain on a gurney in 2014 and a mix-up in drugs in 2015.

After a six-year hiatus, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections announced in October they would continue with executions in the state. But many are questioning the agency's execution process when John Marion Grant "convulsed" and vomited after receiving the first lethal injection drug on Oct. 28.

This story was originally published by Emily Farris at KJRH.

A father of two young children found dead inside a hot truck was released on bond after the Tulsa District Attorney's Office said surveillance video shows the children got into the car on their own.

The district attorney said in a statement that video from a neighbor's home confirmed the two young children got into the truck on their own and never got back out.

The DA's office issued the following statement on Monday:

Police booked Dustin Lee Dennis Tulsa County Jail, and he was being held on a $1 million bond, according to records.

Tulsa Police and the Child Crisis Unit received a call around 5:30 p.m. on June 13 at a neighborhood near 61st Street and Utica Avenue.

When officers arrived, they found a three-year-old and a four-year-old boy and girl deceased.

The father told police he went to QuikTrip with his children and came back home to take a nap.

He said he fell asleep between four and five hours, and when he woke up, he found his kids dead inside the truck.

He then carried them to the living room.

No previous underlying health conditions are suspected for the two children; however, the medical examiner is looking into the cause of death.

This story was first reported by KJRH.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The U.S. Supreme Court lifted stays of execution on Thursday of two men in Oklahoma.

The stays of executions came only two hours ahead of the scheduled execution of death row inmate John Grant.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday to temporarily delay the first two executions in Oklahoma since 2015, but the state appealed to the Supreme Court to lift the delay.

Grant is scheduled to be executed at 4 p.m. Thursday.

He and other prisoners are challenging the state's lethal-injection procedure despite the upcoming scheduled executions.

Grant has initially been serving time for armed robbery charges when he stabbed and killed Gay Carter, a 58-year-old Dick Conner Correctional Center employee, in 1998.

He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 2000.

According to the Associated Press, his execution date was delayed after a botched lethal injection left an inmate writhing in pain on a gurney in 2014 and a mix-up in drugs in 2015.

Those mistakes drew wide criticism on the process, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections put executions on hold.

After a six-year hiatus, ODOC recently announced the agency is preparing to resume executions again after taking time to make sure policies and practices are handled humanely and correctly.

Steps are being taken to make sure the process works as intended.

According to the Associated Press, the court also lifted the stay for Julius Jones, who is on death row for the shooting death of Edmond businessman Paul Howell in 1999.

Jones is scheduled for execution on Nov. 18.

Ryan Love at KJRH first reported this story.

COWETA, Okla. — Late Sunday night, a possible tornado touched down in Coweta, Oklahoma, leaving behind damage throughout its path.

The tornado hit the city around 10:45 p.m. near Coweta High School.

Went back into our KJRH radar data and this shows the tornado approaching the Coweta area, going through Coweta, then the rotation decreased before 11p. #2News #OkWx pic.twitter.com/x3uLpVnX2m

— Brandon Wholey KJRH (@BrandonWholey) October 11, 2021

The storm reportedly damaged several homes near the high school, as well as the school itself. Reported damages include fallen tree limbs, fallen power lines, and debris found in yards across Coweta.

Emergency crews arrived in Coweta early Monday morning and are responding to the damage.

Coweta Public Schools also canceled in-person and virtual classes scheduled for the week to assess the damage done in the area.

2 News Oklahoma

The Phillips 66 gas station across the street from the school had damage to its roof after the storm rolled through. It was closed at the time the storm hit.

The City of Coweta confirms there are no injuries or fatalities that have been reported following the storms on Sunday night.

Power lines are still being repaired at this time.

Senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Chuck Hodges, told the Associated Press that crews would go out sometime Monday to assess and see how many tornadoes struck.

Another city in Oklahoma, Anadarko, also saw buildings damaged, the news outlet reported.

Baseball-sized hail was also reported in Norman.

Oklahoma wasn't the only state rocked with severe storms on Sunday.

According to the AP, severe weather also hit parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas with heavy rains, lightning, and wind.

The AP reported that survey crews were heading out to the southwestern part of the state to see if tornadoes supposedly caused damage.

In Kansas City, the NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and Chiefs was delayed for an hour due to lightning.

Ryan Love at KJRH first reported this story.

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A man accused of killing six people, including five children, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on Tuesday has now been charged with murder.

Jarron Pridgeon was charged with six counts of first-degree murder, one count with shooting with intent to kill, and possession of a firearm after conviction or during probation.

Police believe Pridgeon shot and killed Jalaiya Pridgeon, 1, Jaidus Pridgeon, 3, Harmony Anderson, 5, Neveah Pridgeon, 6, Que’dynce Anderson, 9, and Javarion Lee, 24.

He's also accused of shooting the mother of the children, Brittany Anderson, who is being treated at a Tulsa-area hospital.

According to Muskogee police, Pridgeon and the victims lived together in the same home.

Pridgeon's arraignment occurred Tuesday. He's due back in court Wednesday.

This story was first published by Caitlin Huggins at KJRH in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

TULSA, Okla. (KJRH) -- Archaeologists from the investigation at Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa gave an update Tuesday about finding possible mass graves from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

It was announced that up to 27 total burials have been now found since the continuation of the project started on June 1.

Officials at the press conference say all the burials, so far, share two main factors: all the burials have been found at the same depth in the ground and they have all been in coffins.

Archaeologists confirm the onsite lab team is getting ready to do further analysis. This could determine whether the burials are, in fact, connected to the Tulsa Race Massacre.

It was previously noted that the investigation at Oaklawn Cemetery could take weeks to confirm the DNA samples and identities of those buried.

READ MORE: Additional burials discovered in 1921 mass graves investigation

This story originally reported by Sierra Pizarro on KJRH.com.