Today, Elga Eugene Harper, 43, was sentenced to life imprisonment. According to court documents, in May 2022, Harper showed up at Ellen Finlay’s (Ellie) house unannounced. She was a nun and knew that Harper was homeless. Ellie would pay Harper to fix things around her Tulsa home. Ellie told Harper that she had no work for him. He requested to use the restroom, and Ellie allowed him to.

Ellie testified that Harper had been gone for a while and that she went to check on him. When she found Harper, he was in her bedroom naked and immediately attacked her. Ellie described to the jury how Harper bound her arms and legs and tied a noose around her neck. Then Harper made her move to the shower, where he sexually assaulted her. Harper physically and sexually assaulted her for more than four hours, went through her home, and took some of her possessions.

U.S. District Judge John F Heil, III, sentenced Elga Eugene Harper, 43,  to life imprisonment after a federal jury convicted him of Kidnapping in Indian Country; Aggravated Sexual Abuse by Force and Threat in Indian Country; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country; and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country.

Harper was found guilty during his federal trial in February 2023, and sentenced a few months later in July. Harper then filed an appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court, and the guilty verdict was overturned in October 2024, causing a retrial. While awaiting retrial, Ellie passed away on February 4, 2025.

In August 2025, a new jury was selected when Harper was retried. Law enforcement and witnesses retestified to the events that happened in 2022. The jury heard audio from the 911 call where Ellie cried for help and described being physically assaulted. During the 911 call and on the officers’ body cameras, Ellie can be heard saying that “Elga Harper” was the person who attacked her.

Body camera video and photos shown to the jury displayed the brutality of the violence that Harper committed on Ellie. During sentencing today, a victim impact statement written by Ellie in 2023 was read on her behalf. In that statement, Ellie said:

“Everyone who knows me knows that I am a practicing Christian. As such I have an obligation to forgive my enemies, to bless those who curse me and to pray for those who despitefully use me. I am struggling to fulfill this obligation with sincerity. I pray that God will turn Mr. Harper’s heart from evil to good, will lead him to repentance and will give him the knowledge and understanding that he is loved by the God who created him and who grieves for the great wrong he has done.

I also, as a Christian, have the obligation to love my neighbor as myself and my neighbor, most assuredly, is the next woman out there who may well fall prey to Mr. Harper’s horrific propensity for violence if he were to be a free member of society at any point during the remainder of his life. It is my honest conviction that he should not ever, ever, ever be free again.”

Harper is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He will continue to remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The FBI and Tulsa Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melody Nelson, Valeria Luster, and Kenneth Elmore prosecuted the case