A mother’s life has been torn apart after losing her only child and grandchild-to-be to an alleged murder, the Kansas City Star reports.
Twyla Taylor received a chilling text April 29 from her daughter, 23-year-old Shaliyah Toombs, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — who was approximately seven-months pregnant.
”They gonna kill me mom help me,” Toombs wrote, according to NewsOK.
Toombs was reported missing the same day by her mother.
According to a May 8 statement by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), McClain County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of a body found inside a pickup truck parked along an interstate of Oklahoma City on May 2. The body was identified as Toombs.
The driver of the vehicle, Daniel Vasquez, was arrested for accessory after the fact.
Joshua Finkbeiner, 30, of Bethany, and Staci Harjo, 42, of Oklahoma City, were arrested on murder charges after OSBI agents questioned them. The two were found in north-central Arkansas, and are being held on two counts of first-degree murder as they await extradition to Oklahoma.
According to KFOR, Vasquez himself reported the body located in his vehicle, approaching a police officer inside of a convenience store after he ran out of gas.
Court records obtained by NewsOK show that the three suspects went to Toombs’ apartment at approximately 1 a.m. on April 29, with Vasquez arriving head of Harjo and Finkbeiner. The suspects reportedly said they were looking for a hard drive they had suspected Toombs of stealing.
According to the records, Toombs had reportedly borrowed Harjo’s vehicle when Finkbeiner’s backpack was inside the car. The hard drive in the backpack reportedly belonged to Finkbeiner’s employer.
Vasquez claimed he and Toombs were ordered at gunpoint to enter a truck. The foursome then reportedly drove to a farm located in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, before continuing to drive around.
Toombs’ mother received the desperate text for help just before 5 a.m., Kansas City Star reports.
Court records indicate that investigators believe Finkbeiner choked Toombs to death, before Vasquez was told to “finish her off,” according to NewsOK.
According to an affidavit obtained by NewsOK, Vasquez claimed to have checked for a pulse and thought the victim was dead before he began choking her.
After the alleged killing, Finkbeiner and Harjo reportedly paid Vasquez off and ordered the man to drive away, according to authorities.
In a heartbreaking Facebook post dated May 6, Toomb’s mother thanked those who “prayed and believed,” following the arrest of the three suspects.
“Hallelujah!!!,” Taylor wrote. “Never Never Never underestimate the Power of Prayer. The people that murdered my only child Shaliyah Toombs and unborn grandson have been captured. I give God all the Glory and Praise and thank everyone who prayed and believed.”
[Featured Photo: Shaliyah Tombs/Facebook]
