Kidnapped Texas woman found dead, boyfriend charged in her murder

Yesterday, Texas’ Collin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the female remains found buried in a Grand Prairie field on Wednesday, January 18, belonged to missing 33-year-old Kayla Kelley from McKinney. Early Thursday afternoon, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified those remains as Ms. Kelley.

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.  ~ NBC News

Investigators discovered the Collin County woman’s body in a shallow grave in a wooded area in Grand Prairie, Texas, near Kingswood Boulevard and Prairie Oak Boulevard, according to Fox News.

Ferguson, aka Brown, has been in custody at the Collin County Detention Center since January 14 on charges of kidnapping Ms. Kelley. On January 18, the Frisco Fire Marshall’s Office filed charges against Ferguson for arson involving Ms. Kelley’s vehicle. Since the recovery of Ms. Kelley, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office has been  working with the Collin County District Attorney’s office to determine what additional charges will be brought against Ocastor Ferguson, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Who is Ocastor Ferguson? Married man was dating now-deceased Kayla Kelley under a fake name, according to sheriff Ferguson is currently in jail on kidnapping and arson charges, but he is facing more after her body was found near his home in Grand Prairie. https://t.co/HsFbFVTQtc

— Dawn Elizabeth Wilcox (@WomenCountUSA) January 20, 2023

Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner stated, “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. 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.”

Ferguson is being held in lieu of $1.5 million bond on kidnapping and arson warrants.

The Collin County Sheriff’s Office publicly thanked the other agencies that worked on the case with them, including the Grand Prairie Police Department, Search One Rescue Team, Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Frisco Police and Fire departments for their assistance throughout this investigation.

For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.

(Source: Collin County Sheriff’s Office) / (Kayla Kelley cover photo, Image credit: Twitter)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram