Security video captured a brief greeting between a late-night customer and a teenage clerk in an Oklahoma City convenience store. Minutes later, investigators say, that same encounter ended in a single fatal stab wound and a death penalty case built around less than $40.
Alleged Robbery, Deadly Stabbing, Capital Case
According to police and prosecutors, 24-year-old Anthony Gonzalez is accused of robbing a 7-Eleven in Oklahoma City in October 2024 and fatally stabbing 18-year-old clerk and new mother Jaedynn Anthony during the incident. The Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office has announced it will seek the death penalty against Gonzalez, who remains in jail on a $10 million bond.
Gonzalez is charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon. He has not yet been tried, and under Oklahoma law, he is presumed innocent unless and until a jury finds him guilty. A preliminary hearing was held, during which a judge ordered him to stand trial, and his next scheduled court date is April 1, according to Law&Crime.
A Young Mother Working Alone
At the time of her death, Anthony was an 18-year-old mother of a 1-year-old son, Brayden. She was working the overnight shift alone at the 7-Eleven when the alleged robbery took place.
A fundraising page created for her family describes Anthony as a “bright light” and says she left behind a “precious 1-year-old” child. The GoFundMe organizer wrote that donations would help support Brayden after his mother’s killing.
Anthony’s cousin, Somer Goodgion, told Oklahoma City television station KWTV that the young mother had few options to protect herself at work. According to Goodgion, Anthony was “not allowed to have” a phone while on duty and had bought pepper spray as her only form of self-defense.
Goodgion recalled asking, “What do you give these people to protect themselves?” in that interview, underscoring the family’s concern about the conditions under which Anthony was working.
What Investigators Say Happened That Night
The Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office summarized its version of the events in a recent press release, as quoted by Law&Crime. Prosecutors said that after Gonzalez allegedly entered the store, he interacted briefly with Anthony before the robbery unfolded.
“After he had the money in hand, Gonzalez stabbed Jaedynn one time and left the store,” the office stated, adding that when police arrived at approximately 2:45 a.m., they found Anthony dead. Prosecutors also said that “Anthony left the store with less than $40.”
Oklahoma City police described the suspect’s behavior before the stabbing in their account of surveillance footage, again as summarized in the same reporting. The video allegedly shows Gonzalez entering the store and greeting Anthony, then acting as though he intended to buy an item from behind the counter.
Goodgion, who viewed the footage, told KWTV, “She said hi to him, and he said hi to her when he came in the door.” She added, “The audacity the man had to say hi to her knowing what you’re about to do this young baby.”
Investigators say that after a brief exchange, Gonzalez ordered Anthony to open the cash register. According to police, he then stabbed her “once the till was open” and left the store on foot.
The Aftermath at the Store
Police accounts reported by Law&Crime indicate that customers arrived at the 7-Eleven after the stabbing and found Anthony unresponsive and Gonzalez in what officers later called “medical distress” and dying. Authorities have not publicly detailed the cause of his reported medical distress, and available records do not explain how he went from that condition to being later arrested after several days on the run.
Police said at the time that an “unknown person” had entered the store and stabbed Anthony “for whatever reason” before fleeing. That early description preceded Gonzalez’s arrest by Oklahoma City Police and members of a U.S. Marshals task force.
Once in custody, Gonzalez was booked on the murder and robbery charges. Court filings referenced in the Law&Crime report indicate that a judge later set his bond at $10 million and that he has remained in custody since.
Family Grief and Anger
Goodgion has spoken publicly about the impact of Anthony’s killing on her relatives, especially Anthony’s young son. In an interview after Gonzalez’s arrest, she addressed him directly through the camera.
“I hope you die in horrible pain,” she said. “As you’re dying, I hope you see my cousin’s face, and you see her son’s face, and what you’ve taken from her.”
Her comments, while expressing raw anger, also highlighted the family’s central concern. In their view, the alleged crime was not only an attack on Anthony but a permanent loss for a child who will now grow up without his mother.
The GoFundMe page organizing support for Brayden frames it similarly. It notes that the campaign is intended to help him “thrive” after what it describes as his mother’s “tragic loss”.
Why Prosecutors Are Seeking Death
The Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office has cited specific legal grounds for pursuing a capital sentence. Under Oklahoma law, prosecutors may seek the death penalty in first-degree murder cases if they can prove certain aggravating factors, such as that the killing was “especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.”
According to the press release quoted by Law&Crime, the office stated that Gonzalez’s alleged conduct was “especially heinous” and “cruel.” Those findings, it said, were the aggravating circumstances that led to the decision to file a bill of particulars asking for death.
District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna said in the same statement, “Our office treats the decision to seek the death penalty with the utmost seriousness. It is never made lightly and never made in haste. This determination is based on a careful review of the facts, the law, and extensive discussion with experienced prosecutors in my office. Based on that process and the evidence in this case, we believe seeking the death penalty is appropriate.”
Defense counsel for Gonzalez has not yet been quoted in public records discussing the decision to seek death. No plea has been reported in the available coverage, and there is no public filing yet that fully outlines any defense theory of the case.
Open Questions About Safety and Accountability
Several details that have emerged from relatives highlight broader workplace issues that the criminal case itself may not resolve. Anthony was working alone on an overnight shift at a business that deals almost entirely in cash. Her cousin says she did not have access to a phone while on duty and relied on pepper spray for protection.
Those claims, provided by family members and reported by KWTV and Law&Crime, raise questions about how much control a teenage worker had over her own safety and about the protocols in place for late-night staffing, communication with law enforcement, and emergency response.
Public filings and news coverage so far have focused on the criminal liability of one alleged attacker. They do not show whether regulators, the store’s corporate leadership, or franchise operators have conducted or published any independent reviews of the circumstances that put Anthony alone behind that counter.
What Comes Next
For now, the case moves on two tracks. In the courts, Gonzalez faces a potential capital trial on charges that he robbed the store and killed Anthony for less than $40. In the community, Anthony’s relatives and supporters are working to raise money to support her son and pressing their own unresolved concerns about overnight retail work and worker protection.
Whether a jury will eventually agree with prosecutors that this case meets Oklahoma’s standard for death, and whether any formal examination of 7-Eleven’s late-night safety practices will occur, both remain unanswered as the case proceeds toward trial.
