An Oklahoma couple accused of fatally beating the man they lived with have learned how much prison time they’ll serve after admitting guilt in the case.
Jacob Bailey, 38, and Renee Carpenter, 43, entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder on Sept. 25 over the death of 34-year-old Robert Sikes, who shared a home with the pair in Vinita, Oklahoma. Sikes’ body was discovered in September 2025, and investigators later determined the couple had subjected him to sustained, violent abuse. Both were initially charged with first-degree murder.
An arrest affidavit obtained by local NBC affiliate KSN shows that Bailey and Carpenter gave shifting accounts of what happened before Carpenter eventually admitted to hitting Sikes and said Bailey had done the same. Carpenter told investigators she “frequently” restrained Sikes with pink handcuffs, claiming his nighttime behavior disturbances irritated them. She and Bailey each said she eventually threw the handcuffs away, but their accounts of when that happened didn’t match.
Bailey reportedly told police he beat Sikes until the man stopped responding. An autopsy found Sikes had suffered 69 separate fractures across his collarbone, forearm, ribs, jaw and eye socket, along with internal bleeding and a ruptured bowel.
The affidavit also states that Bailey described Carpenter stepping on Sikes’ throat at one point to keep him from crying out for help, and said she had joined in striking Sikes during the assault that ultimately killed him.
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Authorities noted that Bailey, Carpenter and Sikes all had histories of mental illness. The couple said they never sought help for Sikes because they feared facing consequences for his condition.
Both Bailey and Carpenter were sentenced to 25 years in prison.
