Who is Ocastor Ferguson? Married man was dating now-deceased Kayla Kelley under a fake name, according to sheriff

MCKINNEY, Texas — The search for missing McKinney, Texas, woman Kayla Kelley came to a tragic end on Wednesday after her body was discovered in Grand Prairie.

The 33-year-old’s body, which was identified by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner, was found in shallow grave less than a mile from the home of the man accused of kidnapping her.

Ocastor Ferguson, 32, is jailed in Collin County on murder, kidnapping and arson charges.

“We believe the person responsible for her death is in custody,” Sheriff Jim Skinner told WFAA, referring to Ferguson.

The affidavit for Ferguson’s arrest for kidnapping showed what the investigation revealed about his relationship with Kelley, who had been missing since Jan. 11, 2023.

The affidavit revealed that Ferguson, who was married, had been dating Kelley since summer 2022 after meeting online. He said he used a fake name, Kevin, while they dated, according to the affidavit.

When speaking to investigators, Ferguson said he and Kelley would go to her residence and other locations to meet but never to his home in Grand Prairie, according to affidavit.

According to the affidavit, Kelley recently learned Ferguson’s real identity and found out that he was married. Kelley told friends that “she was going to blackmail ‘Kevin,'” the affidavit stated.

Investigators looked through Ferguson’s phone and found text conversations between him and Kelley, the affidavit stated. According to the affidavit, Kelley told Ferguson that she would tell his wife about their affair if he didn’t answer her.

Prior to Ferguson’s arrest, investigators searched his home and spoke to his wife, according to affidavit. The affidavit stated that Ferguson’s wife told investigators she received a text message from an unknown person on Jan. 4, which said that the person needed to speak with her. Ferguson’s wife said she didn’t reply to the message.

The affidavit stated that the wife’s phone was broken at the time of the interview, which meant they couldn’t obtain the phone number that texted her.

After Kelley was first reported missing, the affidavit stated that Frisco police told the Collin County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 12 that the 33-year-old’s vehicle was found on a deserted county road.

According to the affidavit, the vehicle was “burned beyond recognition and the incident was not consistent with a natural fire.”

After receiving phone records for Kelley, investigators found conversations between her and Ferguson. The affidavit stated that investigators performed a background check on Ferguson and found that his wife reported their vehicle as stolen.

Ferguson’s vehicle was located near Kelley’s residence in Collin County, according to the affidavit. Investigators found gloves, duct tape and a blanket inside the vehicle, the affidavit stated.

Investigators interviewed Ferguson at his workplace on Jan. 13, where he said he knew Kelley and that he last saw her on Jan. 10 when she dropped him off at work around noon, according to the affidavit.

Ferguson told investigators Kelley was supposed to drop off lunch for him at 6 p.m. on Jan. 10 but that she didn’t show up, the affidavit stated.

According to the affidavit, Ferguson said his vehicle was near Kelley’s residence “because he was hiding it from his wife.”

The affidavit stated the phone records detailed the events that occurred on Jan. 10. The records showed that Ferguson was at work on Jan. 10 but that he left and went to his Grand Prairie home. He then drove up the Dallas North Tollway, went to an area near Kelley’s residence and then went to the area where Kelley’s vehicle was found burned. He then went back to his Grand Prairie home, according to the affidavit.

Investigators spoke with Ferguson again, where he denied being in the area where Kelley’s vehicle was found and claimed to have no knowledge of what happened, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit stated that Ferguson said he was driving during that timeframe and that Kelley was in the backseat. But, he said he did not know what happened to her.

The affidavit stated that investigators determined there was enough evidence to arrest Ferguson on a kidnapping charge.

“There is reason to believe that Ocastor Ferguson did then and there intentionally and knowingly abduct Kayla Kelley,” the affidavit stated.

He was booked into jail and has a $1 million bond, the sheriff’s office announced on Sunday, Jan. 15.

Then on Wednesday, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office said a new charge of arson was added to Ferguson’s case. But further details were not immediately released as to why he received that charge.

The arson charge came from the Frisco Police Department.