Background: The Old Clay's Ferry Bridge in Madison County, Kentucky, where the defendant reportedly tried to dump the victim's body (WLEX/YouTube). Inset top: Ryan Crawley (Kentucky Department of Corrections). Inset bottom: April Arnett (Kerr Brothers Funeral Home).
A man is accused of kidnapping and killing a woman in Kentucky before wrapping up her body, storing it under his trailer, and then dumping it on the side of a road.
Ryan Crawley, 42, will face a jury for the death of 39-year-old April Arnett. The defendant — who is charged with murder — will stand trial on May 17, 2027, Lexington NBC affiliate WLEX reported.
The trial will take place nearly eight years after Arnett was found dead.
On Aug. 17, 2019, at about 9 p.m., troopers with the Kentucky State Police were contacted about a body found off Old Lexington Road in northern Madison County, Kentucky. An autopsy was conducted, and she was identified as Arnett.
It is unclear how the victim was killed.
Law enforcement began investigating the woman's death. They have contended that four days prior, on Aug. 13, 2019, Crawley killed Arnett in Scott County, Kentucky.
Crawley allegedly wrapped up the victim's body before "storing it under his trailer," per court documents obtained by the regional outlet. Four other people — including the defendant's cousin, Ronald Crawley — were accused of helping kidnap Arnett.
With Arnett's body wrapped in a tarp with cinder blocks attached, the Crawleys drove into Madison County and tried to dump the remains over the Old Clay's Ferry Bridge, authorities allege. However, the body got stuck on a wire and a passing motorist saw them, and the men allegedly decided to dump her body off the side of Old Lexington Road instead.
The Crawleys reportedly pleaded guilty to evidence tampering and abuse of a corpse in Madison County in 2024 before Ryan Crawley was indicted on the murder charge. Ronald Crawley had been arrested in Oregon in October 2019 after allegedly fleeing there.
Arnett was a mother of three, her obituary stated.
"Whenever April was around, you knew that at least one person in the room loved and cared for you more than anything," the obit goes on. "That smile and special love will never fade from our memory, but will be missed by so many."