Montoya Harris was fourteen years old when she stabbed a thirteen year old girl to death. According to court documents Montoya Harris confronted the victim about stealing her boyfriend and soon after a fight broke out where the victim was stabbed ten times dying from her injuries. This teen killer would plead no contest to murder and was initially sentenced to the juvenile program however her behavior would see her sent to the adult system where she would be sentenced to life in prison.
Montoya Harris 2023 Information
Gender: Female
Race: Black
Height: 5 ft 4 in
Weight: 112 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Alias: Toya Harris
OK DOC#: 652168
Birth Date: 4/12/1993
Current Facility: MABEL BASSETT CORRECTIONAL CENTER, MCLOU
Reception Date: 2/1/2012
Montoya Harris Other News
Tulsa County teenage killer Montoya Harris will stay in the adult prison system, the state Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Thursday.
The state’s high court for criminal matters denied a request to let Harris return to the juvenile system to complete a treatment program.
Harris pleaded no contest in February 2009 to the first-degree murder of Sydney Dailey, 13, whom she stabbed 10 times on March 15, 2008. Harris was 14 and pregnant at the time of the killing.
Both girls attended Madison Middle School in Tulsa.
Harris said she stabbed Sydney with a knife after they talked about Sydney’s “allegedly stealing” Harris’ boyfriend, a police officer said.
Tulsa County District Judge William Kellough found Harris guilty in 2009 and imposed a life term for murder, with the understanding that as a youthful offender she would not serve anywhere near that amount of time if she complied with a treatment plan.
As a youthful offender, she could not have been kept in Office of Juvenile Affairs custody beyond her 20th birthday, which is April 12, 2013.
Kellough denied one request to bridge Harris into the adult system after multiple reports of misconduct while in OJA custody, but the judge granted a later request.
Harris entered Department of Corrections custody Feb. 1. She is housed at the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud.
Her attorney, Robert Jackson, asked the appeals court during oral arguments Thursday to find that the district judge abused his discretion in sending Harris to the adult system.
He said she still has a year to complete the program as a juvenile.
But Harris “doesn’t seem to get it,” Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Gary Lumpkin said.
Jackson disagreed, saying, “She’s made progress.”
Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Julie Doss said Harris was given “chance after chance” in the juvenile system before she was ordered to serve a life sentence as an adult.
Doss said Harris threatened another female inmate the same way she threatened Sydney and chalked up numerous rule violations.
Doss said that even if Harris were returned to the juvenile system, it wouldn’t make a difference because she does not have the capacity for empathy for her victim.
Harris showed a chronic pattern of defying authority while in the juvenile system, Doss said, creating disruptions that interfered with others’ ability to have their treatment programs work for them.
“The only way to treat her now is to bridge her and keep her away from others,” she said.
Harris filed a lawsuit in November in federal court in Oklahoma City against the Central Oklahoma Juvenile Detention Center, employee Kizell Brown and the state Office of Juvenile Affairs, alleging that Brown had raped her while he was employed at the Tecumseh facility as a youth guidance specialist.
Brown has been charged with two counts of second-degree rape in Pottawatomie County in connection with assaults that are alleged to have taken place in May 2010, court records indicate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Montoya Harris Now
Montoya Harris is currently incarcerated at he Mabel Bassett Correctional Center
Montoya Harris Release Date
Montoya Harris is serving a life sentence