Naman Shrestha
In 2008, when two schoolgoing girls, Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker, turned up dead on the side of the road, the entire community was rattled to its core. Soon, the investigation became cold. However, while investigating the disappearance and murder of a soon-to-be-bride named Ashley Taylor three years later, the detectives realized that the two cases were linked as the murders were committed by the same perpetrator. Paramount+’s ‘FBI True Season 7: Angels & Monsters’ delves deep into the murders of Skyla Whitaker, Taylor Paschal-Placker, and Ashley Taylor, and the years-long investigation that ensued. The documentary also features insightful interviews with the victims’ loved ones and the officials directly or indirectly linked to the investigation.
Ashley Taylor’s Burned Remains Were Found Several Weeks After Her Disappearance
Born on November 8, 1987, in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, to Michael and Patricia Ellen (Coy) Taylor, Ashley Celeste Taylor grew up in a loving household alongside her brother, Shane Taylor, and her sister, Alana Taylor. Since both her younger siblings had special needs, Ashley used to lend a helping hand to her mother in taking care of them. Apart from being passionate about her family, she was also an animal lover and a devout member of the Jubilee Christian Center. During her high school years in Weleetka, Oklahoma, she was a shy and reserved teenager who was picked up at school by her peers. She soon crossed paths with Kevin Sweat, who had a lot in common with her, as he was also subjected to bullying in school.
As they bonded over their shared struggles, Ashley and Kevin fell in love and began dating. Although their relationship fell apart after high school, they reconnected when his brother tragically passed away of a drug overdose in a hotel room in the spring of 2007. Stronger than ever, the couple started living together in Ashley’s house and supported her while she took care of her mother and siblings. In 2010, they rented an apartment of their own and planned to begin a new phase in life after getting engaged. For the next step, the couple was making plans to get married and spend their honeymoon in Louisiana. However, before they could exchange their vows, the 23-year-old woman suddenly disappeared as she was last seen on July 17, 2011, off Highway 75 near Schulter.
After several weeks of not being able to contact her, Ashley’s family reported her missing. While the police searched for any trace of her, her loved ones clung to the hope of finding her alive and well. Unfortunately, their worst nightmares came true when her burned remains were found in a burn pit on a property on August 9, 2011. Immediately, the missing persons case turned into a homicide investigation as the authorities tried to find the perpetrator responsible for the killing. Little did they know that during their investigation, they would also solve the murders of Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker.
Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker Were Found Dead Near the Latter’s House
On April 5, 1997, Skyla Jade Whitaker entered the lives of William and Rose Whitaker in Joplin, Missouri, as a little bundle of joy. Accompanied by her three sisters, Rosita Gordon, Christina Whitaker, and Jayme Whitaker, and a brother named Edward Gordon, Skyla was being raised under the umbrella of love and care of her parents. Living in rural Henryetta, Oklahoma, the Graham School student was known for her adventurous nature. Given her love for animals, especially her pet goat, she had dreams of becoming a veterinarian. She was close to one of her schoolmates, Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, who was born on March 6, 1995, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Raised by Peter and Vicky Placker, Taylor was also a student at Graham School in the same class as Skyla, due to the fact that there were only ten students in both grades combined. Both Skyla and Taylor were in the cheerleading team, the 4-H Club, and SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco), but there were a few differences as well. While the former was also an integral part of the basketball team, Taylor was on the Superintendent’s Honor Roll. On the one hand, Skyla was the life of the party. On the other hand, Taylor was a bit more shy and reserved. With their entire lives ahead of them, the two schoolgoing girls met their early demise. On June 7, 2008, Skyla stayed over at Taylor’s house on County Line Road for a sleepover.
The following day, around 5 pm, they went out for a walk to the Bad Creek Bridge. About half an hour later, Taylor’s grandfather discovered the remains of her granddaughter and her friend, Skyla, in a ditch on the side of a road near Taylor’s house in Weleetka, Oklahoma. Immediately, the police were called, and the double homicide was investigated by the detectives. The autopsy reports suggested that both girls were shot a total of 13 times by two different guns. The 11-year-old Skyla and the 13-year-old Taylor reportedly died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. As the investigation led the detectives nowhere, the case soon went cold.
Who Killed Ashley Taylor, Skyla Whitaker, and Taylor Paschal-Placker?
Fast forward to the investigation of Ashley Taylor’s disappearance case, the authorities interviewed her loved ones and learned that her relationship with her fiancé, Kevin Sweat, was far from perfect. According to them, he gradually isolated her from her family and friends. As per the neighbors’ accounts, the couple also had verbal fights regularly. It turned out that after Ashley’s sudden disappearance, Kevin had not missed even a single day of work, indicating that the couple never left for Louisiana after all. He had told her loved ones that they had broken up after a heated argument in the car, after which he had dropped her off near a bridge. As he became a prime suspect in the case, the investigators brought him in for questioning.
Although he stayed true to his earlier statements regarding Ashley, he also admitted to being linked to the murders of Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker. During the interview, the authorities learned that he had bought the gun linked to the killings a year prior to their deaths, but he claimed that he had sold it to another individual. Upon searching the suspect’s apartment and vehicle, the detectives found her wallet and an ax in his car, further linking him to her disappearance. He told the detectives that after the argument, Ashley got out of the car, and he went to the local Nichols Park before heading to his father’s place in Weleetka. However, he changed his story a couple of times in the following interviews.
In one instance, he claimed that he and Ashley had an argument related to their wedding at Nichols Park, where she harmed herself with a knife and fell off the dock. In the next version, he alleged that she cut the side of her neck and fell on the dock, after which he killed her by cutting the other side of her neck with the same knife and pushing her off into the water. Thus, he was arrested for the murder of his fiancée, Ashley Taylor. It was Kevin’s father’s property where her remains were found. Upon further inspection of the property, the detectives discovered nine shell casings, eight of which matched the gun that killed Taylor and Skyla in 2008. According to a witness, the killer blamed Taylor’s brother for his brother’s death, which was why he murdered her and Skyla. As for the motive behind Ashley’s murder, the authorities believed that she had somehow found out about his involvement in the girls’ murders.
Kevin Sweat is Serving His Sentence at an Oklahoma Prison Facility
On July 31, 2014, Kevin Sweat pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the killings of Skyla Whitaker, Taylor Paschal-Placker, and Ashley Taylor. By agreeing to a plea deal, he prevented himself from receiving the death penalty. During his sentencing hearing on October 24, 2014, the killer attacked his own lawyer outside the courtroom and tried to slit his throat with a razor blade he managed to sneak into the Okfuskee County Courthouse. Fortunately, the attorney survived the deadly attack. After about an hour-long delay, Kevin Sweat was sentenced to three consecutive life imprisonment sentences without the possibility of parole. Currently, he is incarcerated at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma.
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