Suspect In Weleetka Girls' Murders Says He Shot 'Two Monsters'

Court documents allege suspect Kevin Sweat, 25, encountered two Weleetka girls on a rural road and opened fire.  <br />

Friday, December 9th 2011, 3:24 pm

By: News 9

Suspect In Weleetka Girls' Murders Says He Shot 'Two Monsters'

The Okfuskee County District Attorney has charged a Henryetta man with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 13-year-old Taylor Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker in June 2008.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced Friday afternoon that Kevin Sweat, 25, is accused of killing the two girls. Authorities plan to seek the death penalty.

Skyla and Taylor were shot and killed near Weleetka, about 100 yards from Taylor's rural Okfuskee County home.

There is no known motive for Sweat in the Weleetka murders, said Stan Florence, director of the OSBI.

According to the arrest affidavit, Sweat told investigators that on June 8, 2008, he was driving on North 3890 Road in Okfuskee County, when he pulled over on the side of the road and saw "'two little monsters' come at him.' He said he panicked, grabbed his Glock .40 caliber handgun, and shot the "monsters." According to the affidavit, Sweat then shot the girls again with a .22 caliber handgun.

Read The Affidavit

Sweat got in his car and left after the shooting, according to the affidavit.

Sweat was already in jail for the murder of his girlfriend, Ashley Taylor, when the OSBI began investigating the possibility he was linked to the murders of Taylor and Skyla.

Investigators said they have identified one of the two weapons used in the murder as a .40 Glock model 22 with a serial number EKG463US. Officials said Sweat may have tried to sell that gun at a gun show in Tulsa in March, 2011.

The OSBI is offering up to a $5,000 reward for that gun.

Ashley Taylor's family says Sweat admitted to owning the gun that killed the two girls. They say he told them he sold the gun before the girls were murdered.

The arrest affidavit details how the gun and shell casings led the OSBI back to Sweat:

• The OSBI first interviewed Sweat about the murders in January of 2010, after receiving information that he had purchased a Glock .40 caliber handgun in the fall of 2007. In that interview, Sweat told the OSBI agent he had sold the gun in 2007 and did not know its serial number.

• Agents later learned the serial number for Sweat's Glock was EKG463US. It had been sent to a gun dealer in Oklahoma in 2006, where it was eventually bought by Kevin Sweat.

• In August of 2011, agents searched property near Weleetka owned by Kevin Sweat's father, Curtis. The elder Sweat had previously told them his son sometimes shot his guns there. The OSBI found shell casings from a .40 caliber gun and determined they matched the casings found at the scene of the murders.

• In September 2011, an FBI trace revealed that the Glock with serial number EKG463US had previously been owned by the Baltimore Police Department, which still had a shell casing from it. The OSBI then determined that that casing matched the casings found at the scene of the murders.

• On September 13, 2011, an OSBI agent interviewed Kevin Sweat who waived his rights and made a statement about the shooting.

The OSBI says it's releasing two photographs of Sweat. One is the booking photo taken when he was arrested and subsequently charged with the murder of Ashley Taylor. The other photo was taken around the time of the Weleetka murders.

The OSBI hopes the photos will lead to more tips about Sweat's activities on the day of the murders.

When told of Friday's development, Ashley Taylor's father, Mike, said, "I'm glad the family of those two little girls is going to get some justice."