Oklahoma Doctor Stephen Wolf Arrested for Murder of 9-Year-Old Son

By: Ryan Smith
Topics: Daily Blotter

(Family Photo)

Photo: Dr. Stephen Wolf has been arrested for the death of his 9-year-old son.

NICHOLS HILLS, Okla. (CBS/AP) Stephen Wolf is paid to treat the sick, but police allege that it was Wolf, himself, who needed the help.

Wolf, an Oklahoma doctor, was jailed Monday for murdering his son after officers found the 9-year-old fatally wounded and the child's mother suffering from injuries incurred while trying to defend the boy, police said.

(Police Photo)

Photo: Stephen Wolf, in a police photo.

Wolf called his son the devil as he stabbed him, according to The Oklahoman.

The child was a third grader at Christ the King Catholic School, about two blocks from the Wolf home.

Police Chief Richard Mask said the first officers on the scene took a knife away from the 51-year-old Wolf. Mask said the child died soon after police arrived. The mother, Mary Wolf, was treated for puncture wounds to her hands and mouth.

Mask said investigators are trying to determine what prompted the attack.

Video Courtesy The Oklahoman.

Mary Wolf pounded on her neighbor's door for help. The neighbor called 911, and Mary Wolf then went back to her house and called 911 herself.

Stephen Wolf was booked into Oklahoma County Jail. A booking photo showed him with a bloody gash on his forehead that he apparently sustained when he banged against a cabinet as an officer disarmed him, Mask said.

He was being held without bond, and jail officials said they don't know if he has an attorney yet.

A telephone answering service employee said the office Wolf shares with other physicians was closed Monday.

Investigators think the boy was attacked in his room soon before the first 911 call, Mask said.

Wolf is a 1988 graduate of the University of Oklahoma's medical school and a specialist in internal medicine.

Police Chief Richard Mask said that investigators are still trying to get "all the facts together" and that the death has had a "devastating" effect on 4,000-person city. Nichols Hills, an area of large, stately homes, is adjacent to Oklahoma City.

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by PatricParamedic January 22, 2010 1:21 AM EST: 32-years ago while I was in medical school one of our instructors, Jeffrey MacDonald, shocked all of us young interns by being convicted of stabbing to death his wife & 2 tiny daughters.

Fast forward to 2010 - yet another physician, Stephen Wolf stepped off the deep end & evidently murdered his young son. And this occurred just months after an Army doctor walked onto a military base & destroyed 13 lives.

What most citizens are unaware of, however, is the ungodly 237,000 MDs already being tracked by the Nat'l Practitioner Data bank, considered either "Dangerous" or "Questionable." Any guesses how many doctors were convicted in the year 2009? a full 2,490. How many were convicted over the previosu decade? 11,000.

The pitiful fact is this: No profession in America spawns more lunacy, more death, more thievery, more crime, than physicians.

And as long as the "Health Care Reform debate" tiptoes around the critical issue of these facts, the situation is not going to get better.; Reply to this comment


by PatricParamedic January 21, 2010 11:43 PM EST: 32-years ago while I was in medical school one of our instructors, Jeffrey MacDonald, shocked all of us young interns by being convicted of stabbing to death his wife & 2 tiny daughters.

Fast forward to 2010 - yet another physician, Stephen Wolf stepped off the deep end & evidently murdered his young son. And this occurred just months after an Army doctor walked onto a military base & destroyed 13 lives.

What most citizens are unaware of, however, is the ungodly 237,000 MDs already being tracked by the Nat'l Practitioner Data bank, considered either "Dangerous" or "Questionable." Any guesses how many doctors were convicted in the year 2009? a full 2,490. How many were convicted over the previosu decade? 11,000.

The pitiful fact is this: No profession in America spawns more lunacy, more death, more thievery, more crime, than physicians.

And as long as the "Health Care Reform debate" tiptoes around the critical issue of these facts, the situation is not going to get better.; Reply to this comment


by max1950-7 November 23, 2009 5:52 PM EST: This crime has everyone wondering what was going through Dr. Wolfs' mind leading up to that morning. Totally "horrific scene" to witness. Only Hollywood could think something like this up, only this was real... Why was Tommy the only one with the devil in to Dr. Wolf? Disturbing! Literally. God be with Mary.; Reply to this comment


by huskerhut November 20, 2009 7:36 PM EST: If you read the definition of "psychosis" you will see that "religion" has nothing to do with a mentally ill person having a delusion that involves "the devil or a demon", and that a person can have a psychotic episode without having any medication at all - you can have a psychotic episode for many reasons. Someone commented Dr. Wolf, being a doctor "should have known he was sick",etc....when these people have crossed over into this level of illness, they do not know or think they are sick, they think their "off thinking and behavior" is normal. NO ONE SAID "psychosis is an EXCUSE for murder", of course it is NOT an excuse, HOWEVER, a diagnosis of GENUINE PSYCHOSIS is a MEDICAL EXPLANATION for SOME CASES...it is an EXTREME MEDICAL CONDITION that will cause bizzare behavior and thought disorders....so the "devils" are NOT related to "religion" and DOES NOT HAVE TO BE DRUG INDUCED, UNMEDICATED mentally ill people can get psychotic too.

Psychosis (from the Greek ???? "psyche", for mind or soul, and -???? "-osis", for abnormal condition) literally means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". People suffering from psychosis are said to be psychotic.

People experiencing psychosis may report hallucinations or delusional beliefs, and may exhibit personality changes and thought disorder. This may be accompanied by unusual or bizarre behavior, as well as difficulty with social interaction and impairment in carrying out the daily life activities.

A wide variety of central nervous system diseases, from both external poisons and internal physiologic illness, can produce symptoms of psychosis.; Reply to this comment


by bann65 November 20, 2009 6:47 PM EST: Husker, I am so sorry for the family too. My prayers go out to all of them.; Reply to this comment


by MPHgrad November 20, 2009 11:57 AM EST: One could argue that anyone who murders, not in self defense, is mentally disturbed. I certainly know that there are those who suffer from extreme mental disability (i.e. schizophrenia), I still find it an unacceptable excuse. Again, if you can murder someone (with few exceptions, e.g. self defense) you are detached, even in briefly from reality.; Reply to this comment

by Sloughfoot November 20, 2009 10:40 AM EST

Another religious zealot attacking a child in the name of "religious purity".

Reply to this comment


by jpayton0256 November 22, 2009 12:58 PM EST: Who said anything about purging/"religious purity"? I think the doctor was in fear. Not excusing him. But, I have known the doctor for seven years as one of his patients. I know that it happened, but it is hard to comprehend. My sleep hasn't been very good the last week, but it keeps me praying for his family, not Tommy, his staff, and the doctor himself.

by TheEnergyDoctor November 20, 2009 8:30 AM EST

The Insanity route wont work for this guy.
Forget that "brain went a-wry" nonsense.

This guy is a medical doctor. If he did'nt know
the fatalistic side-effects of the drugs he took then
the entire medical association board is guilty of murder
for allowing this guy to practice.

America has this terrible habit of turning predators in victims.

Reply to this comment


by jpayton0256 November 22, 2009 12:59 PM EST: It has been proven that there were no drugs involved. And as my doctor, he wouldn't even prescribe pain meds. I had to see a specialist. Get your facts straight.

by huskerhut November 19, 2009 7:16 PM EST

Bann65, yes, we are on the same page with understanding with what has most likely happened here. I have been following the story here locally but tonight it was on our Cable Channel 47, HLN Headline News, the doctors they had on the show said almost EXACTLY what I said in my first comment about the psychotic episode, psychosis -- and that when he comes off the probable psychotic episode back into rational thinking he will most likely be suicidal after realizing what happened --major depression and suicidal when coming down off the psychotic episode. There is nothing we can do about people who do not understand these medical conditions are real and legitimate -- and for those who are critical and dismiss the truth behind that --- "except for the Grace of God there go I"..... mercy and understanding needs to be available to Mrs. Wolf, who will second guess herself for the rest of her life, and I can only imagine Dr. Wolf on his knees wishing death for himself in genuine despair once his mental condition changes and he comes to understand what happened...I am so sorry for the Wolf family.

Reply to this comment


by jpayton0256 November 22, 2009 1:01 PM EST: Thank you so much, Bann65, for saying what I couldn't seem to put into words. I agree completely.

by bann65 November 19, 2009 2:28 PM EST

It WASN"T him that killed his child! It was his mental illness or drugs he took for it, which can make you psychotic. People need to understand these powerful, powerful drugs and what they do to your brain.......case in point.

Reply to this comment


by ddog88 November 19, 2009 10:47 PM EST: Too bad it it wasn't you there to face him when he was slashing away with a cold blade. Bet you wouldn't be saying it wasn't him. You would be saying the man that is bleeding me out with rage in his eyes is a beast and deserves to die. There is not an excuse for what this pathetic coward did. Your justifications of his crime only make his actions more obsene. Before you enable, please put yourself in the victims shoes.