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6 months ago
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A woman in Alabama accused of killing a mother by pushing her off a cliff is facing the death penalty.
Loretta Kay Carr, 44, and her daughter Jessie Kelly, 22, were both charged with murder in June 2023, nearly two years after Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 38, went missing.
It emerged that Carr shared a photo of her by the murder spot in January 2019 at Little River Canyon National Preserve.
Now, the State of Alabama has provided notice to Carr’s defense team that it will be seeking the death penalty.
Alabama woman Loretta Kay Carr, accused of killing a mother by pushing her off a cliff, is facing the death penalty
The 44-year-old and her daughter Jessie Kelly, 22, were both charged with murder in June 2023, nearly two years after Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 38, went missing
Authorities searched far and wide for the body of Isbell (pictured) but were unable to find any trace of the missing Hartselle, Alabama mother until last year
Court documents filed reveal that Alabama prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Carr.
Carr and her daughter were detained three days before the remains of Isbell were located.
Photos of her at the site of the murder later emerged and she wrote, 'Day trip to Little River Canyon and Falls.
‘Was beautiful and only a little ways from the house.'
Carr has been held at DeKalb County jail in Fort Payne, Alabama.
She is charged with kidnapping and capital murder - but Carr insists there is no evidence.
Carr’s attorneys previously argued the state does not have enough evidence to justify confinement or to send the case to a grand jury.
Her daughter was arrested in Pennsylvania and was extradited to Alabama.
Carr is accused of abducting Isbell before pushing her from a cliff on October 18, 2021.
It is unclear how the women knew each other.
DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden previously said: 'We would like to thank the Pennsylvania State Police Corry Barracks, Huntsville Search Dog Unit, State of Alabama Aviation Unit, Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Fischer Rescue Squad and all the volunteers who helped during this investigation for all their hard work and dedication.
'Each individual played an important role in bringing Beth home and holding those responsible for this horrific crime accountable.
'We would ask that you pray for Beth's family and give them privacy as they navigate through this difficult time.'
Isbell was last seen in the fall of 2021. She was officially reported missing in January 2022, and two women were arrested last June on charges of her kidnapping and murder. Isbell's remains were found in an Alabama nature preserve
It emerged that Carr posed by the murder spot in January 2019 at Little River Canyon national preserve
Carr, of Fort Payne, was charged with capital murder and faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted
The timeline of Isbell’s disappearance remains muddled.
In the months leading up to her disappearance, she was suspected of a theft in DeKalb County.
The sheriff's office said the theft involved an apartment she was living at with her boyfriend, James Allen Wright.
James Wright was arrested by the sheriff's office in September 2021 and released to a Florida rehab facility in November 2021.
The sheriff's office said while he was in jail, Isbell was essentially homeless, moving between friends' houses and 'living where she could in DeKalb County.'
Her mother, Debbie Wood, told a local news channel that Isbell became entangled with a 'bad' crowd.
'I think she got mixed up with some wrong people,' she said.
She described Isbell's relationship with Wright as 'new but troubled,' saying they were always getting into fights.
Carr is accused of abducting Isbell and pushing her from a cliff on October 18, 2021.
However, according to another police report, on November 22, 2021, she visited her mother's home in Hartselle.
She was spotted the next day, November 23, 2021, across the street from her son's school, also in Hartselle.
Isbell's ex-husband, Steven Isbell, said on December 27, 2021, that she was missing.
‘I actually hate to put this out here on social media but Facebook covers a wide area,' he wrote.
'[Her son] hasn't heard from his mom since September 6th on his birthday and he's really worried about her because she always at least calls him on the holidays.
Isbell was living an unsettled life in the run up to her disappearance. Her boyfriend was in prison and then rehab, and she was moving from place to place
Carr's lawyers are arguing that there is no evidence she murdered Isbell and claim there is no link between the two women
'I've talked to her family and no one has heard from her. So we thought about doing a missing person report.'
Harselle PD detectives searched the home where Isbell was staying on the day of Steve Isbell's Facebook post, December 27, 2021.
Physical evidence was recovered from the home and entered into a national database, but no match was found at the time.
Relatives officially reported her missing in January 2022 to the Hartselle Police Department and the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, and on January 19, 2022, a missing poster was placed on their website.
The case went quiet until June 20 last year, when DeKalb County investigators received information about Isbell's disappearance and interviewed two people in connection with her killing.
Carr was arrested on June 25.
Officers discovered remains on June 28, with forensics confirming they belonged to Isbell on June 30 – what would have been her 39th birthday.
Her teenage son posted a tribute to his mother, sharing a link to Carr's arrest, writing: 'Love you forever, like you for always, as long as I'm living, my mommy you'll be.'
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