Arizona woman linked to husband's shooting death in Oklahoma

San Tan Valley woman in custody in Pinal County to be extradited back to Oklahoma

Raelynne Simonin, 23, of San Tan Valley
Photo courtesy Pinal County Sheriff's Office

On Tuesday, August 2, detectives with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) aided officials with the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) in Oklahoma in the arrest of a San Tan Valley woman for her alleged involvement in a murder that occured July 25 inside a rural home near Sallisaw, Oklahoma.

Raelynne Simonin, 23, was arrested and booked into the PCSO Adult Detention Center charged with one count of accessory to murder after the fact.

On July 27 Simonin contacted PCSO from a local hospital to report she had witnessed a murder and was the victim of a sexual assault earlier that week. Simonin identified the victim as her husband; however, she was unable to tell detectives where the body was located because the couple had recently moved to the area.

After giving investigators a general idea of the location using a map, PCSO alerted SCSO to search the area. Simonin said she was also raped by one of three men who killed her husband.

SCSO was able to locate the home and discovered the body of a man inside identified as Jack Purselley, 39, formally of Waddell, AZ.

SCSO believes Purselley was shot to death July 25. Given the circumstances at the crime scene with information provided at the hospital, SCSO detectives had probable cause to believe Simonin was involved.

After being interviewed by SCSO detectives, Simonin admitted she was not the victim of a sexual assault and was involved in a relationship with one of the suspects.  Three adult males from Oklahoma have been arrested in the case and charged with first degree murder. Simonin drove back to Arizona after the murder. The truck she drove was taken into evidence at her parent's home in San Tan Valley where she was arrested.

Simonin will remain in PCSO custody until extradition orders back to Oklahoma are completed. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department are heading the investigation.