UPDATE at 10:45 a.m.: A fourth adult has been charged in connection with what is now an investigation into the homicide of 16-year-old Kayla Huff, the Randolph County teen who had disappeared over a week ago.
Charges were filed Thursday, May 14 against 26-year-old Julian Mason, accusing him of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. Deputies allege that Mason had helped his sister, 20-year-old Alayna Mason, pour motor oil into Huff’s fuel tank, causing the vehicle to stall along Route EE or Rollins Street in Moberly. During questioning, Julian Mason took investigators to a location near Brunswick where he allegedly had discarded an expandable baton believed to have been used in causing Huff’s death.
Mason is being held without bond, with his arraignment also scheduled for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in Randolph County Circuit Court.
Original Story Follows:
Randolph County Sheriff Andy Boggs has announced that search teams have located the body of a teen from the area that went missing just over a week ago.
In a statement early Thursday, May 14, Boggs announced that his office, “regrets confirming the missing juvenile, 16-year-old Kayla Huff, has been located deceased.” Boggs went on to say that the office extends their condolences to Huff’s family and loved ones, and that the case has deeply impacted the community and those involved in the investigation.
The sheriff’s office has now deemed the investigation a homicide. Prosecutors had previously charged 23-year-old Christopher Hull, 19-year-old Hunter Ames, and 20-year-old Alyana Mason of being involved in Huff’s disappearance and kidnapping.
Kayla Huff (photo courtesy of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office)
Probable cause statements accuse Mason and an unnamed fourth suspect of kidnapping Huff after Mason allegedly poured motor oil into Huff’s fuel tank, immobilizing Huff’s vehicle along an outer road in Moberly. Mason allegedly took Huff to the Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area, where prosecutors say Huff was assaulted with an expandable baton, then shot with a firearm provided by Ames. Both Ames and Hull also reportedly aided in the kidnapping and help discard evidence, including the baton.
Mason has been charged with kidnapping in the first degree, terrorizing and inflicting injury. Mason is also facing charges for stealing a patrol vehicle on May 7. Hull and Ames are facing felony charges for kidnapping in the first degree and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. All three are being held without bond, with their arraignments scheduled for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at the Randolph County Circuit Court.