What to Know
- Kayla Kelley, 33, reported missing on Jan. 11 after loved ones, and co-workers said they hadn't heard from her for several days.
- Kelley had been dating a man named Kevin Brown since last summer and her friends say she planned to confront him after learning he was married and that his real name was Ocastor Ferguson.
- Ferguson is facing charges of kidnapping and arson. Detectives say he admitted to the relationship with Kelley and that his phone records put him near her home and where her vehicle was abandoned and burned on Jan. 10.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed the identity of a body found Wednesday in Grand Prairie as 33-year-old Kayla Kelley.
The Collin County Sheriff's Office, which had been investigating Kelley's disappearance, said Wednesday night a woman's body had been found in Grand Prairie but the identity of the person had not yet been confirmed.
On Thursday afternoon, the medical examiner confirmed the body found along the 2800 block of Prairie Oak Boulevard was Kelley. The medical examiner did not list a cause of death but said the woman's body was found in a "clandestine grave, wooded area."
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"While we desperately hoped for a different outcome, I'm grateful for the dogged determination of my deputies and our Texas Rangers in locating Ms. Kelley," Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said in a statement. "As this is an ongoing homicide investigation, details outside what may be contained within an investigator's search or arrest affidavit will not yet be released."
Police cruisers were seen blocking traffic Wednesday evening around the intersection of Kingswood Boulevard and Prairie Oak Boulevard, in a residential area about one mile from the home of Ocastor Ferguson, the man accused of kidnapping Kelley. Neighbors told NBC 5 that police had been investigating the area since mid-afternoon.
A source confirmed to NBC 5 that investigators were working to recover a body and Collin County sheriff's deputies were involved in the investigation. The Collin County Sheriff's Office later confirmed a woman was found dead in a field.
Kelley was reported missing on Jan. 11 after her loved ones and coworkers said they hadn't heard from her for several days. She had been dating a man named Kevin Brown since this past summer, and her friends say she planned to confront him after learning he was married and that his real name was Ocastor Ferguson.
Ferguson, 32, was arrested on Jan. 14 on a charge of kidnapping. He is held in the Collin County Jail on bonds totaling more than $1 million.
An arrest warrant affidavit obtained Wednesday by NBC 5 showed detectives said Ferguson admitted to the relationship with Kelley and that his phone records put him near her home and where her vehicle was found abandoned and burned on Jan. 10.
A new charge was added for Ferguson on Jan. 19, officials said. He was charged with arson, a second-degree felony, in connection with the discovery of the burned vehicle.
Search One Rescue Team, a local nonprofit that helps law enforcement with lost and missing cases, said they were deployed twice on Friday and Monday to help with search efforts.
The Collin County Sherriff's office said more information will be released as the investigation develops.
