Mystery of Missing Woman Ends in Murder and Arrest of Three Men

Mystery of Missing Woman Ends in Murder and Arrest of Three Men
Image By: Law & Crime

Authorities in Oklahoma claim that a man has died as a result of what they believe to be a revenge homicide after a woman went missing years ago.

Any fatally violent link between the deceased and the disappeared, however, is still conjectural and unverified at this point. Three individuals were taken into custody this week for the man’s murder.

And there might soon be more arrests.

The last known location of Kendra Nicole Battelo, 26, was Enid, a medium-sized city located about 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, on July 5, 2022.

Two days later, at midnight, the woman’s mother claimed to have had her last conversation with her daughter, according to the Enid News & Eagle.

On July 12, 2022, she was formally reported missing.

Then, according to authorities, on July 20, 2022, a woman in Pawnee, which is about 65 miles due east of Enid, said that Battelo had knocked on her front door and asked for a glass of water. The wife contacted the police after reading a Facebook post stating that Battelo was missing.

Battelo is characterized as being about 5’9″, weighing 120 pounds, with dimples, brown eyes, and short, clipped black hair. She also has a penchant for wearing different colored wigs.

According to family relatives, she frequently visits Bristow and struggles with substance misuse and mental health concerns.

On December 27, 2023, Colby Dennis Sheppard, 27, was last seen at an Enid Pizza Hut. His family filed a missing person’s report on January 4.

Online sleuths often reported that Sheppard was the woman’s lover and that she was spotted with him at or around the time she vanished, despite the fact that police never formally named him as a person of interest in the Battelo case.

Those same investigators also revealed that Battelo had a case against Sheppard pending for domestic abuse, but it was later dropped because of her absence. Sheppard, on the other hand, was supposedly questioned by the authorities multiple times.

That being said, it seems that the implications have built up into a vicious impulse; at least three persons are thought to have taken action based on the theory that Sheppard was both Battelo’s kidnapping and murderer.

Tuesday saw the discovery of human remains in the cellar of a home on North 12th Street in Enid, which are thought to be Sheppard’s.

“Evidence suggests Mr. Sheppard was killed in retaliation for his rumored involvement in Kendra Battelo’s disappearance in 2022, though detectives have not found any evidence to support the allegation,” The Enid Police Department stated.

It was stated that investigators were “acting on information” gleaned from the Sheppard missing person inquiry. Although the Garfield County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet provided a formal identification, detectives believe they know who the body recovered in the cellar belongs to.

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The manner of the man’s death was not disclosed by the police.

Charles Jordan, 55, and Victor Battelo, 45, were both already detained on separate counts when they were charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday. Later on in the day, they declared that Devin Harris, 35, had been taken into custody and was being charged in the Sheppard case with one count of first-degree murder.

Police stated that the inquiry is still on and that more individuals are likely connected to Sheppard’s demise. It is likely that Kendra Battelo is still not in the hands of law authorities.

Reference

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With more than two years of expertise in news and analysis, Eileen Stewart is a seasoned reporter. Eileen is a respected voice in this field, well-known for her sharp reporting and insightful analysis. Her writing covers a wide range of subjects, from politics to culture and more.