Boyfriend charged with murder after body of missing Texas woman found buried in field

COLLIN COUNTY, Texas (TCD) — A 32-year-old man who was initially arrested on suspicion of kidnapping is now charged with murder after the body of his missing girlfriend was found buried near his home.

Kayla Kelly, 33 years old, was reported missing at the Collin County Sheriff’s Office on January 11 after friends and family had not seen her in several days. Investigators would later locate his abandoned car in a remote area of ​​Frisco. Deputies identified Ocastor Ferguson, who also used Kevin Brown’s name, as a person of interest and took him into custody on January 14.

On Wednesday, January 18, the The Collin County Sheriff’s Office said investigators found a dead woman in a field in Grand Prairie, and later positively identified the victim like Kelly.

Collin County jail records show that in addition to the murder and kidnapping, Ferguson is also charged with arson for allegedly burning Kelly’s car.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Kelly was dating a man named Kevin, but she recently found out he was married. She reportedly told friends she wanted to blackmail him, but friends and family “told Kelly they didn’t want to talk to her about dating a married man.”

A day after her disappearance, Frisco police called the Collin County Sheriff’s Office to say officers found her vehicle ‘burned beyond recognition and the incident was not consistent with a fire natural “.

Investigators went to Kelly’s duplex and did not see her there, but found her dog who had been left alone for several days. Relatives of Kelly said the dog “was like Kelly’s child and she would never leave him unattended for an extended period of time”.

Going through Kelly’s phone records, detectives saw that she was communicating with Ferguson. According to the affidavit, Ferguson’s wife reported that their Lexus was stolen and investigators found the vehicle at Kelly’s duplex with duct tape, gloves and a blanket inside. Kelly’s phone has reportedly not been used since January 10.

A Texas Ranger reportedly spoke with Ferguson, who said he knew Kelly and admitted to using a fake name in their relationship so she wouldn’t find out his true identity. wife about their affair if he doesn’t answer her. »

Kelly and Ferguson reportedly met online and started dating in 2022.

Ferguson reportedly told the Texas Ranger that he hadn’t seen Kelly since around noon on January 10, but cellphone records reportedly showed Ferguson drove from his place of work to his home, drove to Kelly’s residence, had traveled to the area near where his car was found, and back to his home in Grand Prairie.

On January 4, Ferguson’s wife reportedly received a text from an unknown number “informing her that they needed to tell her something” and “believed it was a woman based on the language used in the exchange. SMS”.

Ferguson’s bail is set at $2.5 million.

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