Couple Killed Teen Mom After Cavity Search For Drugs
A Kentucky couple has confessed to killing a teen mom, and the details of this tragic murder are downright shocking. The Daily Mail reports that the body of 19-year-old Meagan Hassler was located in a wooded area. Other reports indicate that the young woman had been missing for approximately one week when her body was found. Not long after the discovery of her remains, the story quickly developed from a missing persons case to a nightmare for one family, who have been faced with details nobody should ever hear about their loved ones.
Not long after the discovery of Meagan’s body, a 22-year-old woman named Monica Mudd showed up at the Louisville Metro Police Department with a full confession of what she and her 45-year-old boyfriend had done. Mudd told authorities that she and Todd Byrd “forcibly abducted” the teen mom from her home on June 17th before taking her to an unspecified location. The reason for this abduction was because the couple believed that the 19-year-old woman stole drugs from them.
Mudd told police that she and Byrd forced her to strip down and submit to a cavity search — which Mudd administered. WDRB News reports that the woman’s vagina was penetrated digitally by Mudd, who was reportedly looking for drugs. As it turned out, Meagan Hassler did not have any drugs on her, and the frantic couple were left with few options after having abducted and violated the woman. Instead of releasing her, they chose to drive her out to a rural area on Pendleton Hill Road. That is where she was shot in the head and dumped in a ravine, where her body was later found.
Right now @KVanoverWAVE3 is at a vigil for Meagan Hassler. Hear from family and friends, tonight @ 11 on #wave3news! pic.twitter.com/mLjRSPhSSw
— wave3news (@wave3news) June 25, 2015
#BREAKING Monica Mudd held on $750k bond for kidnapping, murder of Megan Hassler. Back in court on July 6 #WAVE3News pic.twitter.com/E0p5xK7hGw — Julian Glover (@JulianGloverTV) June 24, 2015
#BREAKING Bond also set at $750k for Todd Byrd for murder, kidnapping of Meagan Hassler #WAVE3News pic.twitter.com/tV3flVQok3
— Julian Glover (@JulianGloverTV) June 24, 2015
Family members of the slain woman weren’t made aware of the arrests of Byrd and Mudd until Tuesday, but the duo confessed on Monday. A family member spoke to reporters about the death of the Kentucky teen mom.
“You never expect anything like this to happen to someone you love. It’s devastating.”
Both Todd Byrd and Monica Mudd have been charged with counts of murder and kidnapping with serious physical injury.
[Photo: Metro Dept. of Corrections mugshot]
