Louisiana authorities arrested a soldier and his alleged girlfriend after reportedly discovering the body of his wife in a vehicle — where two young children were passengers.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office announced at a news conference on Monday that Fort Polk soldier Logan Kyle, 22, was handed over to military investigators at his base following the arrest, while Sarah Parker, 24, was taken into custody on charges of obstruction of justice and failure to report a homicide, KPLC reports.
Sheriff Tony Mancuso told reporters that Parker’s vehicle was pulled over at approximately 9:30 p.m in Lake Charles., following a tip the department received about “a woman driving around with a dead body in the back of a trunk.”
The sheriff said Kyle, of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, confessed to murdering his wife at Fort Polk before meeting up with Parker in order to conceal the crime.
“We believe he killed his wife, put her in the trunk of the car, met up with Miss Parker and drove around several locations, through our investigation, some in Calcasieu Parish, some in other parishes to try to dump the body,”Sheriff Mancuso stated. “We were able to locate them before they conducted that particular act.”
Parker’s children, aged 1- and 2-years-old, were also in the vehicle and were subsequently transferred to state custody, the sheriff said.
“What disturbs us about that as law enforcement officers is … when we come in contact it would not be abnormal for us to draw our weapons on what we consider a felony stop. If we had to shoot into this car or they shot back at us or for some reason we could have injured two innocent children,” Sheriff Mancuso said.
Fort Polk spokeswoman Kim Reichsling told the Associated Press that the identify of Kyle’s wife won’t be released until sometime on Tuesday, pending notification of next of kin.
Authorities haven’t announced official charges against Kyle, citing the ongoing probe. Further charges could be brought against Parker, who is behind bars, as the investigation unfolds.
This is a developing story. Check back with CrimeOnline for the latest updates.
[Feature photo: Sarah Parker/Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office]
