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Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Murdering Girl With Hammer When She Was A Teenager
Jordin Roache has been in custody since he was 16-years-old for the beating death of 14-year-old Kaytlynn Cargill.
A man has pleaded guilty to brutally murdering a 14-year-old girl while he himself was still a teenager.
Jordin Roache, 21, pleaded guilty on Thursday to the murder of Kaytlynn Cargill of Bedford, Texas, according to a release from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. Roache reportedly admitted to beating Cargill to death with a hammer and leaving her body in an Arlington landfill when he was still 16 years old.
372nd District Judge Scott Wisch sentenced Roache to 10 years in prison.
“My hope is that every day you remember what you did to Kaytlynn,” Wisch said at the hearing.
Cargill was reported missing on June 19, 2017, when she failed to return to her Bedford apartment complex after taking her dog for a walk, according to the release. Her body was found at the Republic Service Arlington Landfill two days later.
Investigators with the Bedford Police Department were led to the defendant’s girlfriend’s home, which was in the same complex where Cargill lived, according to Dallas-Forth Worth Fox affiliate KDFW. A forensic biologist found Cargill’s blood on the door frame, bathtub, patio ledge, and on a claw hammer found in the apartment.
Roache lived at his girlfriend's home at the time of the murder, according to police.
On the day of Cargill’s disappearance, she was due to collect $300 from Roache as part of a previous marijuana deal, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by KDFW.
Roache was arrested on Sept. 1, 2017, and booked into the Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Facility in Fort Worth on charges of murder.
“Roache was 16, legally a juvenile, at the time of the offense and was certified as an adult to stand trial in this case,” said District Attorney Sharen Wilson. “He has remained in custody ever since.”
The case experienced several delays over the years for varying reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic, according to police.
The District Attorney’s Office also noted that Cargill’s manner of death was previously “listed as a generic finding” by former Medical Examiner Dr. Marc Krause. Dr. Krause was terminated from his position after botching dozens of postmortem examinations during his four decades in office, as reported by Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate KXAS. Krause’s inaccurate findings were “in part, unknown to the grand jury due to the condition of Cargill’s remains.”
Cargill’s cause of death was amended in August 2017 when officials ruled she died of homicidal violence, according to KXAS.
“On June 19, 2017, our lives changed forever,” Cargill’s mother, Trisha West, said at Thursday’s allocution. “The defendant brutally beat my daughter, terrorized and tossed her away like trash - a fate no human deserves, and especially not Kaytlynn.”
Relatives relayed fond memories of the young girl at the hearing, including Easter egg hunts and opening Christmas presents. Trisha West said her daughter loved fishing, music, skating, and animals, adding that Cargill “no doubt would be an asset to society.”
“She was not yours for the taking, but you did it anyway,” Cargill’s father wrote in a prepared statement. “I am tormented every day about what she endured. It plays out in my mind.”
Police say Roache was transferred to the Texas Department of Corrections following his sentencing.
“This day has been a long time coming, and we’re grateful for the hard work and countless hours put in by the Bedford Police officers, detectives, and forensic investigators, along with the prosecutors from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office,” said Police Chief Jeff Williams. “The Cargill family remains in our thoughts as we reach the conclusion of this tragic case.”
