Post by LadyBlue on May 17, 2004 0:23:55 GMT -5
On Saturday, October 22, 1994, some time after 10 PM, 19-year-old Kayla Mayberry disappeared from a nightclub in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.A. (The Wet Bar, on Spring Street). She had been there with her sister, but she wanted to go to the dance floor while her sister didn't, so they separated for what was intended to be only a few minutes. Kayla was never seen again.
Over the days and weeks that followed, her family conducted a massive search for Kayla, including posting "Missing Person" flyers all over town and elsewhere. But nothing turned up.
Finally, over two weeks later, a body was found in an abandoned farmhouse in east Texas (near Elysian Fields, close to the Louisiana state line), and was identified as Kayla. Few details about the body were revealed at the time, but findings made public much later reveal that Kayla was probably choked to death; no sign of knife or bullet wounds or broken bones was found. Harrison County Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Palmer has been accused of botching the investigation by contaminating the body with formaldehyde and bug spray, charges which he denies.
At any rate, nothing conclusive was found at the time, and authorities were baffled about who committed the killing, and why. Her family and friends desperately sought any clues that might help solve the case.
In February, 1996, it was revealed that Christopher Timon, the "I-49 murderer" of last year, had allegedly admitted to also killing Kayla, according to Tammy Williams, who testified in Timon's successful prosecution. Williams told this to DeSoto Parish authorities six months earlier, who in turn tipped off Shreveport detectives, but somehow this information never got to the people who were investigating this case. Timon, however, has since denied any involvement in the Mayberry killing, and is also appealing the I-49 murder conviction.
The police then said that they had another suspect who failed a lie-detector test, but they didn't have sufficient evidence against him to obtain a warrant for his arrest. It has never been revealed who this suspect is.
Other Facts
Kayla was 5'6", 115 lbs, age 19, medium blonde hair, brown eyes, and was last seen wearing light blue Guess jeans and a sleeveless blue and white striped V-neck tank top.
Oct. 22, 1994, when Kayla vanished, was the night of a massive street festival in downtown Shreveport, a few blocks away from The Wet Bar. It was part of the monthly "Downtown Neon Saturday Night" series of arts festivals, and was also a celebration of the completion of Texas Street Streetscape construction work. There was a large crowd downtown to see the art, hear bands perform, and see a laser show put on by Rockne Krebs, who also created the neon lighting display of the Texas Street Bridge.
The farmhouse where her body was found is reportedly not visible from the road (Waskom-Elysian Fields Road, north of F-M 451 in Harrison County, Texas, about 22 miles SW of Shreveport). This implies that the killer may be familiar with the abandoned houses in that region.
Suspect Christopher Timon, inmate #360424 at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, is serving a life sentence for the murder of a man that he followed out of a riverboat casino in Bossier City in order to rob him of his winnings and kill him. Timon was beleived to have been hanging out in the parking lot of Northwood High School, where Kayla graduated in 1992, and also frequently went to the Wet Bar, where Kayla vanished.
A friend of Timon's, and an accomplice in the I-49 murder, was Gary Lynn Shaw, who knew Kayla and her sister Tonya (but they weren't friends, according to Tonya). Timon denies knowing Kayla or hanging out at Northwood.
Investigators have looked at whether there may be connections between this case and that of the disappearance of Kristi Gwen O'Pry, last seen July 19, 1996.
Anther case which has been investigated for possible connections include a homicide committed by Shreveport doctor Reuben Ross, who shot his girlfriend Penny Williams in rural East Texas after leaving a Shreveport bar. Ross killed himself when approached by a deputy.
Yet another investigation: whether accused serial killer Glen Rogers was in the area at the time. He's now in Florida on a murder charge, and is suspected in the Bossier City slaying of Andy Jiles Sutton.
Over the days and weeks that followed, her family conducted a massive search for Kayla, including posting "Missing Person" flyers all over town and elsewhere. But nothing turned up.
Finally, over two weeks later, a body was found in an abandoned farmhouse in east Texas (near Elysian Fields, close to the Louisiana state line), and was identified as Kayla. Few details about the body were revealed at the time, but findings made public much later reveal that Kayla was probably choked to death; no sign of knife or bullet wounds or broken bones was found. Harrison County Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Palmer has been accused of botching the investigation by contaminating the body with formaldehyde and bug spray, charges which he denies.
At any rate, nothing conclusive was found at the time, and authorities were baffled about who committed the killing, and why. Her family and friends desperately sought any clues that might help solve the case.
In February, 1996, it was revealed that Christopher Timon, the "I-49 murderer" of last year, had allegedly admitted to also killing Kayla, according to Tammy Williams, who testified in Timon's successful prosecution. Williams told this to DeSoto Parish authorities six months earlier, who in turn tipped off Shreveport detectives, but somehow this information never got to the people who were investigating this case. Timon, however, has since denied any involvement in the Mayberry killing, and is also appealing the I-49 murder conviction.
The police then said that they had another suspect who failed a lie-detector test, but they didn't have sufficient evidence against him to obtain a warrant for his arrest. It has never been revealed who this suspect is.
Other Facts
Kayla was 5'6", 115 lbs, age 19, medium blonde hair, brown eyes, and was last seen wearing light blue Guess jeans and a sleeveless blue and white striped V-neck tank top.
Oct. 22, 1994, when Kayla vanished, was the night of a massive street festival in downtown Shreveport, a few blocks away from The Wet Bar. It was part of the monthly "Downtown Neon Saturday Night" series of arts festivals, and was also a celebration of the completion of Texas Street Streetscape construction work. There was a large crowd downtown to see the art, hear bands perform, and see a laser show put on by Rockne Krebs, who also created the neon lighting display of the Texas Street Bridge.
The farmhouse where her body was found is reportedly not visible from the road (Waskom-Elysian Fields Road, north of F-M 451 in Harrison County, Texas, about 22 miles SW of Shreveport). This implies that the killer may be familiar with the abandoned houses in that region.
Suspect Christopher Timon, inmate #360424 at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, is serving a life sentence for the murder of a man that he followed out of a riverboat casino in Bossier City in order to rob him of his winnings and kill him. Timon was beleived to have been hanging out in the parking lot of Northwood High School, where Kayla graduated in 1992, and also frequently went to the Wet Bar, where Kayla vanished.
A friend of Timon's, and an accomplice in the I-49 murder, was Gary Lynn Shaw, who knew Kayla and her sister Tonya (but they weren't friends, according to Tonya). Timon denies knowing Kayla or hanging out at Northwood.
Investigators have looked at whether there may be connections between this case and that of the disappearance of Kristi Gwen O'Pry, last seen July 19, 1996.
Anther case which has been investigated for possible connections include a homicide committed by Shreveport doctor Reuben Ross, who shot his girlfriend Penny Williams in rural East Texas after leaving a Shreveport bar. Ross killed himself when approached by a deputy.
Yet another investigation: whether accused serial killer Glen Rogers was in the area at the time. He's now in Florida on a murder charge, and is suspected in the Bossier City slaying of Andy Jiles Sutton.