Thedailymiaminews– A woman was kidnapped, raped, and murdered, and two men from Texas are currently serving time in prison for their meticulous planning of the crime, according to the Lone Star State police.
Regardless of whether or not a plan existed in the first place, it was ultimately not carried out.
According to the records kept at the Smith County Jail, Dustin Adlai Yates and Brad Michael McKinney are being held on suspicion of stalking and murder.
The alleged plot was slowly uncovered by law enforcement after Yates was initially arrested on the stalking charge alone in December 2024, according to court documents obtained by Jacksonville, Texas-based NBC affiliate KETK, which serves the state’s eastern reaches.
In the fall of 2022, the victim, who was referred to as Myra in the court filings, severed her relationship with Yates and blocked his attempts to reach her via phone and email. This marked the beginning of the nightmare.
Yates allegedly continued to contact the woman by using a variety of phone numbers, each of which had a different area code, according to the investigators. Yates was not deterred by this. In 2023, the alleged harassment reached a point where Myra filed a family violence case with the Houston Police Department. This occurred because the harassment had become more severe. An intervening detective cautioned Yates to cut off all communication with his ex-girlfriend and to stop all further contact. According to the allegations, he did not pay attention.
During the period beginning October 31, 2024, Myra filed a complaint with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office regarding nine different threads that she had received. According to the allegations, Yates made reference to the woman’s previous address in one of those emails.
Supposedly, contact was maintained.
According to the allegations, Yates sent another message to the woman using a phone in the wee hours of the morning on December 1, 2024. According to court records that were referenced by KETK, Yates is believed to have stated in those chats that “her expiration date was soon” and that “she had a predictable schedule and daily driving routes.”
Myra allegedly received a snapshot of a friend’s residence, which was the location where she had previously been, later on same day, according to an affidavit. A confirmation was made by that friend that they had received the identical photo from the same phone number.
Detectives would eventually be provided with a slew of chilling messages the alleged victim received.
“I’d be vigilant if I were you,” one message reads.
The affidavit offers a laundry list of that alleged outreach:
“You were a busy girl in 22”
“I wonder what your expiration date is”
“I think it’s soon”
“You have a very predictable schedule and daily driving routes”
In interviews with various members of law enforcement after being arrested late last year on the stalking charge, a broader, more disturbing picture was revealed, authorities allege.
During questioning, Yates allegedly admitted to conducting multiple background checks on Myra through different websites and uncovering her workplace in Tyler. He also allegedly confessed to using different texting applications to disguise his communications.
“I wanted Myra to be scared and looking over her shoulder,” the affidavit reportedly reads. “Dustin stated, without being asked or the topic being brought up, that he had no intention to kill Myra, and if he wanted to, he would have killed her months ago.”
A search warrant for Yates’ cellular phone allegedly turned up evidence of the second man implicated in the plot, authorities claim.
“[McKinney] agreed to help Yates stalk and gather information on [the woman] for Yates for a monetary return,” the affidavit reportedly reads. “Yates got a large information dump about the woman from a private investigator. Yates forwarded Myra’s vehicle and address information to McKinney so he could help him locate the woman.”
Yates allegedly gave McKinney $650 for “wisdom and guidance.” In response, he allegedly replied: “help in any way I can.”
In all, detectives say the two men exchanged 741 text conversations planning a complicated scheme to kidnap, rape and kill Myra.
The duo allegedly discussed McKinney’s experience as a sniper, pondered which types of bullets would cause the greatest harm, and deliberated about how the inciting moment of deception should begin — including acting as a UPS employee or pizza delivery man.
McKinney was allegedly paid $1,300 for information he provided Yates. The co-defendant also stood to receive around $15,000 for a parallel plan to video the assault, investigators claim.
On Jan. 9, Smith County Sheriff’s officers took McKinney on numerous warrants – linked to the case and otherwise. During questioning, the second defendant allegedly agreed to collecting money from Yates but attempted to minimize his role, claiming he did not take Yates’ threats seriously and merely acquired the material for financial advantage.
Yates, for his part, apparently did not mean to long survive what happened to his ex-girlfriend, according to law police.
It is alleged that he communicated to McKinney in one of his messages that he intended to end his own life. According to the allegations, McKinney responded by saying, “Take out some filthy people in our country and go down swinging buddy.”