The Wedding Dress Trap

In every town, there are stories whispered across decades—stories that leave behind more than just grief. They leave behind fear, anger, and unanswered questions that echo through generations.

This is one of those stories.

In 1981, a newlywed named Denise Palmer placed a simple ad in the newspaper to sell her wedding dress. It was a quiet, everyday act—something any young woman might do while starting fresh. But the man who answered that ad didn’t come to buy a dress. He came to take a life.

Denise was just 19. A wife. A daughter. A woman with her entire future in front of her. And in the span of a few short hours, that future was ripped away—in broad daylight, inside the safety of her mother’s home.

What happened next would haunt Tulsa for decades.

Despite witness accounts, a suspect description, and even collected evidence, Denise’s case—like so many others involving young women—slipped through the cracks of time and flawed systems.

But Denise deserves to be remembered. Her story deserves to be told.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing today.

This is The Wedding Dress Trap—the tragic, still-unsolved murder of Patricia Denise Palmer.