Police have launched a manhunt for a Kentucky woman after human remains were found on the back seat of a burned out car earlier this month.
33-year-old Krystle Williams of Pikeville is being sought on a second-degree arson charge following the discovery of the charred remains in the incinerated vehicle near the community of Robinson Creek on July 3, WYMT reports.
The remains are thought to be those of Wesley Hook, a 30-year-old who vanished in Pike County on June 10.
Pikeville police confirmed that the death was a homicide.
Two male suspects have already been arrested and are being held on arson charges relating to the burned out car. One had initially been held on drug trafficking charges.
Homicide charges are expected to be filed after the remains have been positively identified.
“A warrant has been issued for Krystle Williams in connection with the arson in the burning of the car,” Pikeville Police Public Information Officer Tony Conn told reporters Monday.
Williams’s last reported sighting was in Fayette County.
Eric DeLeon, one of the male suspects, was arrested last Friday and has admitted in a police interview that “he … burned the car,” Conn said.
He is currently being held at Pike County Detention Center on a second-degree arson charge.
The other male suspect, 46-year-old Enos Little, was arrested July 3, the day the car was found, on drug trafficking charges. He has since been indicted on other charges.
(Pike County Detention Center)
The men are believed to be involved due to the high level of detail they know about the burned out vehicle, although neither has admitted to murder, police said.
Conn also pointed out that Williams, DeLeon, Little and Hook all knew each other.
“It wasn’t a random thing,” he said.
The charred remains are currently being examined at the Kentucky State Police forensic lab, and an identification based on dental records is expected “within the next couple of days,” Conn said, according to the Appalachian News-Express.
The Pike County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office believes the victim was killed in the Alpike Motel in Ivel, and then loaded into the car and driven to Robinson County before the vehicle was set ablaze.
“The evidence indicates that the homicide occurred at [a] motel in Floyd County,” Donald Smith, an assistant attorney at the office, told reporters.
Conn was adamant that police would ensure justice for the victim.
“We’re going to speak for Wesley,” he said. “We’re going to take care of Wesley because he can’t take care of himself.”