An Oklahoma man has been taken into custody in connection with the death of his wife, who was discovered wrapped in a carpet and left lifeless in a ditch.
Frank Byers was apprehended last week, facing charges of first-degree murder, unauthorized removal of a deceased body, and desecration of a corpse, as reported by Oklahoma City's KOCO-TV.
Byers initially informed the police that his wife, Makayla Meave-Byers, aged 30, had not returned from a date on September 15, claiming that they were in an open relationship. However, court documents obtained by the station now suggest that he shot her in the head with the intention of pursuing a relationship with another woman.
After Byers' arrest, Meave-Byers' mother, Barbara Harper, expressed some relief, stating, “It’s a little bit of a sigh of relief. To us, it feels like it’s been 10 years even though it’s just been a few weeks.”
Byers had reported his wife missing on September 16, and her body was discovered in a drainage ditch roughly 2,000 feet from their Pottawatomie County home on September 20. She was found wrapped in a carpet, with a medical examiner determining that she had been shot twice in the head. Undersheriff Travis Dinwiddie of the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office emphasized that her body had been intentionally placed there.
A search warrant executed at Byers' home led to the collection of evidence that raised suspicions about his involvement in his wife's murder. Court records revealed that Byers' work boots had a substance resembling blood on them, which was confirmed to match his wife's DNA. The records also noted the discovery of a Walmart receipt showing purchases of bleach, a mop, and ammonia, all dated on the day Meave-Byers was reported missing.
An arrest warrant obtained by News 9 stated that Byers had removed the SIM card from his wife's phone and inserted it into a different device, logging into her Facebook account and fabricating a text exchange related to her alleged date with another man.
In an interview with Fox 25, Byers claimed that he and Meave-Byers had an open marriage, and he believed it was none of his business where she went or who she saw. He professed his innocence but acknowledged the community's suspicions, saying, "With everything going on and the public's opinion. It's hard, really hard. I loved her deeply, and it pains me that she’s not here.”
Meave-Byers' sister, Andria Meave, disputed Byers' account, stating that Meave-Byers had been living separately from her husband and had requested a divorce.
In her obituary, Meave-Byers is described as "a vibrant soul" who "loved music and singing and always had a song in her heart." She worked as a paraeducator at Macomb Public Schools and is survived by her husband, six children, her parents, and two sisters.
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