Who are Kylie Kadeen Craig and Matthew Collett? Fugitives linked to strangled female corpse arrested in California
HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: A man and a woman were arrested in Humboldt County on Saturday after being connected to a dumped body of a female who had been strangled to death. Kylie Kadeen Craig, 28, and Matthew Collett, 37 were caught in separate incidents after authorities had launched a manhunt for the two in California. According to KRCR, local law enforcement officials had been looking out for two suspects wanted in a homicide case in Mason County, Washington.
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office revealed that they had received word that two fugitives wanted on murder charges were likely staying in Humboldt County. On Saturday, October 10, the sheriff's office said that deputies who were patrolling the area near Redwood Drive and West Coast Road in Redway had stopped to help a California Highway Patrol officer with a female driver who had run out of gas.
The deputies were able to recognize the woman as Kylie Kadeen Craig based on descriptions of the fugitive. She was later confirmed to be Craig and was taken into custody. She was booked into the Humboldt County jail for being a fugitive from justice, the HCSO revealed. Later that same day, the HCSO shared how their Emergency Communications Center had received a call regarding an attempted carjacking close to the area of New Navy Base Road and Vance Avenue in Samoa. The victim had told dispatchers that he had been on a test drive with a male suspect who was later identified as Matthew Collett.
When Collett had asked the victim to pull over near Vance Avenue, he exited the car and pointed a gun at the victim as an attempt to try and steal it, the police shared. Instead, the victim called 911 and refused to give the vehicle to Collett, the HCSO said. Collett then fled onto some nearby train tracks. While speaking to witnesses and passersby, Collett was found walking on a trail. He was eventually caught and taken into custody and was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on five charges of fugitive from justice. The deputies are said to be submitting Collett's additional charges for attempted carjacking to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.
As per a Komo News report, the authorities had received a call where they were told that a woman's body had been found close to the Forest Service Road 24 near SR 119 in Lake Cushman, Washington. An autopsy revealed that the woman had been attacked and suffocated. She was identified as Rachell Rene Roberts. The Mason County Sheriff's Office released a statement and said, "It was apparent from the evidence at the scene that this was a homicide." Detectives are of the opinion that Roberts had not been killed where her body was found.
They added it was possibly a U-Haul van to transport Roberts' body to the site where it had been dumped. The rented U-Haul vehicle was also found abandoned close to her body. The authorities are of the belief that Roberts and the suspects had likely known each other but have not been able to examine the exact nature of their relationship.