OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – A Kansas teenager allegedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend and two others regained consciousness after she was attacked and kidnapped — but the three suspects chose to "finish killing her," her uncle told FOX4KC.
Keighley Alyea, 18, was found dead late Monday in a farm field near Harrisonville, Mo., after disappearing a week earlier.
Alyea's former boyfriend Dustin Hilt, 18; his cousin Joseph Mattox, 18; and his best friend Gerald Calbeck, 18; were charged Tuesday with first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
The teen's uncle, Eddie Frentrop, said police told Alyea's father that she was initially attacked in her hometown of Overland Park but woke up after she was abducted, according to FOX4KC.
"Somewhere along the drive out east of Harrisonville, she regained consciousness," Frentrop said. "At that time, they had the option to do the right thing, and they chose to finish killing her."
Alyea's best friend, Jessika Beebe, said she tipped detectives off that Hilt was behind the teenager's disappearance because of the couple's violent, on-again-off-again relationship.
"He's abusive. He's so abusive," Beebe told the station. "All she ever talked about was him beating her. And being scared of him."
Alyea vanished about midnight on Sept. 29. That day, she'd spoken of getting back together with Hilt, her best friend said. Beebe tried to talk her out of it, but said Hilt had gotten Alyea addicted to drugs and she wouldn't listen to her.
Court documents show that Alyea was killed Sept. 30, hours after she disappeared.
District Attorney Steve Howe declined to discuss why or how the victim was killed at a Tuesday news conference.
The three suspects appeared in Johnson County Court Tuesday to face the charges; each is being held on $2 million bond.
Frentrop told the station that a tattoo of Hilt's name will be removed from Alyea's body before she is buried.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox