Man Shoots And Kills Two Girls, Aged 13 and 11 – Describes Them As ‘Two Monsters’
[boy those spirits stirred him into a frinzy]
Kevin Sweat, 25, already in custody over another killing, was accused of first degree murder and prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker were gunned down while walking along a remote road in Weleetka, Oklahoma.
In an arrest affidavit he admitted using different handguns when saw ‘two monsters come at him.’
Since the shooting in June 2008, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents have pored over 900 leads, performed 19,000 forensic tests on 800 pieces of evidence and conducted hundreds of interviews.
Police say they have linked one of the weapons, a 40-caliber Glock, to Sweat who was sold it by a gun dealer. There is a $5,000 reward for its recovery.
OSBI director Stan Florence revealed the breakthrough in the case came after Sweat allegedly confessed to cutting the throat of his girlfriend Ashley Taylor.
Her charred remains were found on a farm belonging to Sweat’s father last August, a month after she vanished after telling her parents she was eloping with Sweat.
In the arrest affidavit he then referred to the shooting in Weleetka as he drove along a rural road in Okfuskee County.
He told police he ‘panicked’ when he saw ‘two monsters’ come at him and ‘grabbed his Glock .40 caliber handgun from between the seats of his car.
‘Sweat then ‘shot the monsters’ with the Glock handgun. Sweat then grabbed a ‘.22 caliber’ gun from his glove box and ‘shot the monsters’ with the .22 caliber gun. Sweat then got into his car and left.’
Investigators had talked to Sweat before Taylor’s death because he owned a .40-caliber Glock. Shell casings were found near the girls’ bodies, but there was no other reason to link him to the crimes.
Ballistics tests on five casings found at the scene showed they were from the same gun, and matched those on Sweat’s father’s property near Weleetka.
Skyla had been spending the night at Taylor Paschal-Placker’s house, and the two had decided to take a walk along the dirt road to a river bank to collect pebbles.
When the girls failed to return home, Taylor’s grandfather Peter went looking for them and discovered their bodies.
According to autopsy reports, Skyla had been shot a total of eight times in the neck, arms, shoulders, chest and abdomen. Taylor had been shot five times in the face, groin and hand
‘After the death of Ashley Taylor a lot of things started to come together,’ said director Florence at a news conference on the Weleetka courthouse lawn.
Sweat pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in February 2010 and received a six-month suspended sentence, according to online court records.
There is a makeshift memorial to the girls on the side of the road near where their bodies were found.
Tattered stuffed animals, including rabbits, bears and a leopard, sit among statues of guardian angels and a large wooden cross bearing the girls’ birth dates and day of their deaths.
Weleetka residents also have been shaken in recent years by a house fire that killed six people; the death of a beloved youth minister in an oil tank explosion; and a fire that tore through several downtown buildings.
Kevin Sweat, 25, already in custody over another killing, was accused of first degree murder and prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker were gunned down while walking along a remote road in Weleetka, Oklahoma.
In an arrest affidavit he admitted using different handguns when saw ‘two monsters come at him.’
Since the shooting in June 2008, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents have pored over 900 leads, performed 19,000 forensic tests on 800 pieces of evidence and conducted hundreds of interviews.
Police say they have linked one of the weapons, a 40-caliber Glock, to Sweat who was sold it by a gun dealer. There is a $5,000 reward for its recovery.
OSBI director Stan Florence revealed the breakthrough in the case came after Sweat allegedly confessed to cutting the throat of his girlfriend Ashley Taylor.
Her charred remains were found on a farm belonging to Sweat’s father last August, a month after she vanished after telling her parents she was eloping with Sweat.
In the arrest affidavit he then referred to the shooting in Weleetka as he drove along a rural road in Okfuskee County.
He told police he ‘panicked’ when he saw ‘two monsters’ come at him and ‘grabbed his Glock .40 caliber handgun from between the seats of his car.
‘Sweat then ‘shot the monsters’ with the Glock handgun. Sweat then grabbed a ‘.22 caliber’ gun from his glove box and ‘shot the monsters’ with the .22 caliber gun. Sweat then got into his car and left.’
Investigators had talked to Sweat before Taylor’s death because he owned a .40-caliber Glock. Shell casings were found near the girls’ bodies, but there was no other reason to link him to the crimes.
Ballistics tests on five casings found at the scene showed they were from the same gun, and matched those on Sweat’s father’s property near Weleetka.
Skyla had been spending the night at Taylor Paschal-Placker’s house, and the two had decided to take a walk along the dirt road to a river bank to collect pebbles.
When the girls failed to return home, Taylor’s grandfather Peter went looking for them and discovered their bodies.
According to autopsy reports, Skyla had been shot a total of eight times in the neck, arms, shoulders, chest and abdomen. Taylor had been shot five times in the face, groin and hand
‘After the death of Ashley Taylor a lot of things started to come together,’ said director Florence at a news conference on the Weleetka courthouse lawn.
Sweat pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in February 2010 and received a six-month suspended sentence, according to online court records.
There is a makeshift memorial to the girls on the side of the road near where their bodies were found.
Tattered stuffed animals, including rabbits, bears and a leopard, sit among statues of guardian angels and a large wooden cross bearing the girls’ birth dates and day of their deaths.
Weleetka residents also have been shaken in recent years by a house fire that killed six people; the death of a beloved youth minister in an oil tank explosion; and a fire that tore through several downtown buildings.