Shivangi Sinha
In December 2019, Amanda Gordon’s mother contacted the Cedar Park Police Department to report her daughter missing after being unable to reach her for several days. Her concern grew quickly, and the case took a tragic turn when authorities discovered burned human remains, later confirmed to be Amanda’s. The investigation revealed that she had been the victim of a brutal crime. Uncovering the truth proved challenging, but the case ultimately exposed a perpetrator shockingly close to home. The details of the investigation and the efforts to secure justice are carefully explored in ID’s ‘See No Evil: The Missing Cameras.’
Amanda Gordon’s Remains Were Found After Her Mother Reported Her Missing
Amanda “Mandi” Gordon had always been close to her mother, Deb Gordon. She was a bright, enterprising woman who poured her heart into everything she did. She was reportedly in a common-law marriage with Samuel Byrd. For a while, life appeared to be going well for the couple. They had two children, a daughter born in 2011 and a son in 2017. She devoted much of her time to caring for them, and the family had built a comfortable life together in their home at 2505 Cypress Lane in Cedar Park, Texas. On December 12, 2019, Deb contacted the police, expressing concern that she hadn’t heard from her daughter in several days.
When the police arrived at Amanda’s home, they found little to go on. In an effort to locate her, investigators began tracking her phone records. On December 17, they confirmed that her phone had not been used since the night of December 10. By December 19, police informed the media that burnt human remains had been discovered on a ranch in Bastrop County, Texas. The remains were identified as Amanda’s and had been recovered from a burn pit near a pond. Some of her jewelry was also found at the scene. Authorities concluded that she had been the victim of a homicide and that the perpetrator had deliberately attempted to destroy evidence related to the crime.
Amanda Gordon’s Killer Sought Help From Other People to Clean the Crime Scene
From the very beginning, police had identified a potential suspect in Amanda’s case. On December 12, 2019, when officers arrived at her home for a welfare check, Samuel Byrd, her common-law husband, refused to let them in. He spoke to them through a window and only allowed entry after a SWAT team was called in. The couple’s two children were removed from the home, and cadaver dogs were brought in to assist with the investigation. In the backyard, officers discovered blood on the walls, floor, and entryway of the shed. Additional traces of blood were found in both the bedroom and bathroom inside the house. During the search, police also spoke with Samuel’s brother, Josiah Byrd, who provided a significantly different account of events.
Josiah told police that Amanda and Samuel had allegedly been using drugs together and claimed that Samuel passed out during that time. According to Josiah, when his brother regained consciousness, he found Amanda and reacted in a panic. He also revealed that Samuel had been having an ongoing affair with a woman named Rachel Buckley. Investigators reached out to the latter, who was found to be in possession of Samuel’s car. She informed police that on December 11, he had asked her to purchase cleaning supplies, including bleach and ammonia. He also asked her to hide a bag, which she later led authorities to. Inside the bag, police discovered a handgun, a spent shell casing, Amanda’s eyeglasses, and her cellphone, which became critical pieces of evidence in the case.
Deb Gordon alleged that her daughter had suffered mental, physical, and emotional abuse at the hands of Samuel. Amanda had never reported the abuse, Deb said, because he had allegedly threatened her. Josiah further claimed that Samuel had asked both him and Rachel to come to the house on December 12 to help clean up the crime scene. Based on this information, Samuel was initially arrested on charges of tampering with a corpse. However, when Amanda’s remains were recovered, and it was discovered that the ranch where they were found belonged to one of Samuel’s business associates, investigators believed they had sufficient evidence to pursue more serious charges. Samuel was subsequently charged with one count of murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
Samuel Byrd is Serving a Long Sentence Today
On November 14, 2022, nearly three years after he was initially charged in connection with the murder of Amanda Gordon, Samuel R. Byrd pleaded guilty to aggravated murder as part of a plea deal. The court sentenced him to 45 years in prison for the brutal killing of his common-law partner, whose remains were discovered burned and concealed on a remote ranch. At the time of his sentencing, he was 35 years old. He is currently serving his sentence at the Mark W. Stiles Unit in Beaumont, Texas. According to prison records, he will be eligible for parole in the year 2042.
