Kayla Kelley.Photo: Collin County Sheriff’s Office via AP
A 33-year-old Collin County, Texas, woman has been found dead after friends and loved ones reported her missing on Jan. 11, multiple outlets report.
Before she vanished, investigators said Kayla Kelley was planning to confront the man she was dating after she’d learned he was actually married and using a false name,NBC 5 reports.
After a weeks-long search, Kelley’s body was uncovered Wednesday in a field in Grand Prairie, Texas, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Kelley was reported missing after friends and family failed to hear from her for several days, per NBC 5. After her disappearance, investigators found her car, dumped and “burned beyond recognition,” near her boyfriend Ocastor Shavon Ferguson’s place of work.
Ferguson and his wife had recently reported their Lexus stolen, and in another chilling turn, their car was later found near Kelley’s home with duct tape, gloves and a blanket inside it,ABC 8 reports.
Ferguson and Kelley reportedly began dating last summer after meeting online. He used the name “Kevin” with her because he didn’t want her to know his true identity, reports state. Before she disappeared, she allegedly told friends she intended to confront him regarding his lies about being married, as well as about his use of a fake name.
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The warrant also indicated that Ferguson’s phone records showed he’d been near Kelley’s residence, as well as the location where her car was found burned and left behind, on Jan. 10.
The location where Kelley’s body was found was less than a mile from where Ferguson lived, ABC 8 says.
Ferguson was arrested on Jan. 14 and has been charged with kidnapping and arson. “We believe the person responsible for [Kelley’s] death is in custody,” Sheriff Jim Skinner told WFAA.
Ferguson is now being held in the Collin County Jail on bonds of more than $1 million. It’s unclear if he’s submitted a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.
source: people.com
