FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: July 14, 2008 Dominic Guadagnoli, Public Affairs Officer (850) 554-6602   First Degree Murder Suspect Captured in Niceville by Marshals Task Force   Niceville, FL - The U.S. Marshals Florida Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested a Niceville man wanted for 1st Degree Murder who is suspected of stabbing and killing his wife several days ago in a town outside of Tulsa, OK. According to reports from the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office on July 12, 2008, Mark Paul Bixler allegedly stabbed his wife Michelle Bixler two times; once in the chest and once in the head before fleeing. It is unknown at this time why Bixler might have murdered his wife or when he arrived in Niceville. He was arrested at approximately 5:15 a.m. this morning at his address of record at a home on the 1200 block of Willow Street in Niceville. Bixler was taken into custody by the Task Force after they found him trying to hide in a bedroom. Yesterday, a bulletin was issued by Pawnee County to be on the lookout for Bixler and his pick-up truck. Niceville Police saw the bulletin and started canvassing the city. At first, Task Force investigators couldn’t find Bixler’s truck but eventually discovered it at a house about two miles away. Just after midnight, Investigator John Merchant with Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office assigned to the Marshals Task Force developed leads that Bixler was in fact at the home on Willow Street. Together with police officers from Niceville Police Department, the Task Force gained entry into the house and Bixler was taken into custody and transported to the Sheriff’s Office in Shalimar. Bixler is being held on no bond at the Okaloosa County Jail for the homicide. Bixler was also charged with a misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge. He will be at the county jail until he is extradited back to Oklahoma. Two other individuals, an unidentified woman and man who were present at the house were also arrested by Niceville Police for possession of marijuana. The U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force in Pensacola is a team consisting of law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies. The task force’s objective is to seek out and arrest Florida’s most violent offenders. So far this year, the Task Force has arrested 57 fugitives and cleared approximately163 felony warrants. Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.