Left: Christopher Sanders (Little Elm Police Department). Right: Molly Richards (Little Elm Police Department).
A Texas man is accused of killing his girlfriend and then telling people she had met a different man in South Dakota and wanted to stay with him.
Christopher Charles Sanders, 53, is charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of 31-year-old Molly Richards, according to Denton County jail records reviewed by Law&Crime. The case stretches back to October 2025.
Steven Richards, Molly Richards' father, told the Little Elm Police Department that she had begun living with Sanders at a home in Little Elm in October 2025, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by regional ABC affiliate WFAA. He said he got a text from her stating that she and her boyfriend were going to travel to South Dakota, and he last saw her in November.
Molly Richards reportedly expressed to her father that Sanders had been abusive, and on Dec. 1, 2025, he got a text from her saying she was checking into a mental health facility due to her bipolar disorder. Following this text, Steven Richards asked Sanders for updates about his daughter.
"Went by your place. Where is Molly anyway?" Steven Richards asked Sanders in a Dec. 15 message, per WFAA. "There was no answer at the door, and I didn't see her car. I am worried about Molly. Can you tell me where she is and how she is doing?"
Sanders allegedly did not reply.
Authorities began investigating Sanders' connections to South Dakota, the affidavit states, learning that Molly Richards' vehicle had crashed in Deadwood, South Dakota. A witness told investigators that Sanders asked him to care for her vehicle while Sanders took her to a doctor about 40 miles south of Deadwood in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Sanders reportedly left her vehicle there and took a flight back to Texas, telling the witness that Richards had met a guy in Deadwood and wanted to stay with him at a motel in Rapid City. When Little Elm investigators contacted motels and other facilities in the area, none had seen Richards.
When investigators found Richards' car and were able to secure a search warrant for it, they said they noticed a strong smell of cleaning products. On Feb. 19, authorities learned that her phone pinged in Denton near Sanders' home, and days later, a woman watching Sanders' dogs allegedly found items belonging to Richards, including a driver's license.
The Little Elm Police Department posted a "Missing Person" flyer on social media on Feb. 25, stating that Molly Richards was last seen in Little Elm — a city just north of Dallas — in November 2025. "She was reported to have possibly traveled to South Dakota and has not been seen or contacted since," the flyer added.
When investigators carried out a search warrant on properties owned by Sanders, they reportedly found bedding with blood residue, a receipt for a 24-inch bow saw, and 10 five-gallon buckets. Investigators believe Sanders killed Richards on or around Nov. 25, 2025, The Independent reported.
Sanders was booked into jail on March 16. Richards' remains have not been found.
Comments