Missouri – A Missouri man was formally charged Monday with second-degree murder in the killing of 31-year-old TayIor in Missouri three years ago. Previously, the defendant, 35-year-old C. Corvantes, had been indicted on charges of tampering with evidence and tampering with a motor vehicIe in connection with the victim’s death.
The 35-year-old man remains at Iarge and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, with prosecutors requesting he be held without bond if apprehended. The investigation into the victim’s death began after he was found dead in June 2022 in Missouri. A witness told investigators that the victim, the defendant and another person were behind the barn unloading boxes when an argument broke out and a gunshot rang out. The witness then reported seeing the defendant emerge from behind the structure with a smirk on his face.
Investigators also reviewed digital data, vehicle registration and phone records, and determined that the defendant and his then-girIfriend, McKayIa, left the scene separately after the shooting. The two were believed to have disposed of their electronics, traveled across states, and were eventually arrested in Arkansas before returning to Missouri.
The defendant’s then-girIfriend later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and related charges in connection with the victim’s death. According to her statements to police, the 35-year-old had been angry about her prior reIationship with the victim and “made me kiII him,” she told detectives, claiming he encouraged her to shoot the victim after a jeaIousy-fueIed confrontation.
A key piece of the puzzle, prosecutors say, is the woman’s admission that she initially shot the victim at her partner’s direction. She told Missouri authorities that the plan was to stage the death as a suicide by leaving a firearm accessible to the victim. When that failed, the defendant allegedly became enraged and told her to finish him off. Evidence collected from the scene, including lack of a weapon belonging to the victim and traces of tampering with the vehicle and evidence afterward, helped investigators move the case forward.
The witness told Missouri authoirities that the victim and the man had been arguing behind the building shortly before the shooting. The witness recalled hearing the victim say, “No, why’d you do it?” right before a gunshot rang out. Moments later, the man allegedly walked out from behind the barn with a smirk on his face, according to the probable cause statement, prompting the witness to run for safety.
Investigators later learned that the woman involved had a se-uaI reIationship with the victim about a week before the shooting. The victim reportedly believed that their recent intimacy meant she planned to leave the man and start a reIationship with him, which fueled the defendant’s jealousy.
The woman later told Missouri authoriteis that the man forced her to kiII the victim because she had sIept with him. According to investigators, the woman said the man pressured her to kill the victim as retribution for her past involvement with him. She told detectives that he made it clear the victim had to die and insisted she be the one to carry out the act because she had been lntimate with the victim.