Kevin Sweat: Weleetka, Oklahoma — Skyla Whitaker, Taylor Placker, Story To Air On ‘Murder Comes To Town’ On Investigation Discovery
Kevin Sweat, the killer responsible for gunning down two sweet country town girls on a lonely dirty road in Weleetka, Oklahoma, eight years ago, will have his story told on Murder Comes To Town, Investigation Discovery’s hit tv series, featuring crimes that occur in small towns. Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, were found dead in 2008. Their case went unsolved for years, until the death of another woman led to the confession of a man named Kevin Sweat. Their story will be dramatized in the episode, “Last Walk To Bad Creek,” where investigators will hunt for the killer of two girls whose dead bodies were found on the side of the road.
It’s been almost a decade, but the folks of Weleetka haven’t forgotten the double shooting that left Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Placker dead. The two best friends had spent the night together and headed out for a nice walk along a dirt road when someone took out a gun and shot them in cold blood. The family was alerted that something was wrong after one of the girls’ cell phones went unanswered.
Taylor Placker’s grandfather hopped in his car to go find the girls and was shocked to happen upon the bodies. These murders left the small town of 1,000 people in utter disbelief. Investigators arrived on the scene but found few clues, and in the days after the murders there were no suspects. The grieving townspeople and classmates of Whitaker and Placker were sad and looking for answers. A huge shrine decorated with cards, flowers, and letters marked the spot where the girls were found dead. Autopsy reports confirmed that the two schoolgirls died of multiple gunshot wounds to the body.
Who had done this? All sorts of speculation swept through Weleetka as everyone looked over their shoulders for the monster who had left these babies on the side of the road. And it wasn’t just residents of Weleetka who were touched by the killings. As news outlets covered the story, news of their senseless deaths stung just about everyone who heard about it, prompting complete strangers to travel from all over the country just to pay their respects.
The case eventually went cold, until another woman’s death in 2011. According to Fox News, 23-year old Ashley Celeste Taylor disappeared after leaving with her fiancee, Kevin Sweat, heading to Louisiana. Ashley told her family that she was planning on marrying Kevin. But when she didn’t return, her worried family feared the worst. Their fears were confirmed after Kevin Sweat confessed to police that he had killed his girlfriend. A search of his property turned up a gun receipt and shell casings that were traced back to the murder of Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Placker. It turns out that some had suspected that Kevin Sweat had something to do with the murders of the girls. Here is one comment from Scared Monkeys.
“I did some snooping and found that the family of this young lady, (Ashley Taylor) that was recently murdered, is also friends on Facebook with the family of Taylor Paschal -Placker. Taylor’s mother posted recent condolences to Ashley’s father, Michael Taylor. On Michael’s facebook he talks about this Kevin Sweat killing his daughter. There is no mention of Kevin Sweat being a “suspect” in Skyla and Taylor’s murder on either families profile.
“This is unsubstantiated, but I’ve heard Kevin’s father actually lives next door to the grandparents of one of the two Weleetka girls who was killed in 2008.
“Kevin’s grandparents is the ones who live next to the victim’s family of those little girls, & his father also lives about 6 miles from there.
“He was dating Jennifer Placker. If they can find the gun, they’ve got him.”
Kevin Sweat was arrested and eventually found guilty. Today, he is serving a life sentence in an Oklahoma correctional facility. Kevin Sweat’s story is filled with unexpected twists and turns. Tune in to ID’s Murder Comes To Town to see how police put the puzzle together. In the meantime, check out Kevin Sweat’s ramblings about his girlfriend and a secret that he was about to reveal, which can be found at his old blog.
[Image via Facebook]
