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A 13-year-old boy has been placed in a Texas juvenile detention center following the death of a 31-year-old woman in Oklahoma, authorities said.
The Bryan County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Malary Clayton. Because the suspect is a minor, his name has not been released.
Officials say the investigation remains ongoing, reports People.
Missing alert and arrest
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol issued a missing person alert for the 13-year-old after authorities were unable to locate him.
Investigators later learned he had traveled south across the Oklahoma-Texas border, according to an OSBI statement.
“It was the next day, early morning hours, around 6:30 of the 28th, when the 13-year-old was found and placed into custody by the sheriff’s office in that area,” OSBI public information manager Hunter McKee said.
Woman found with gunshot wound
According to local station KXII, investigators believe the boy is the primary suspect in the killing, which occurred in Colbert on Friday, Feb. 27.
An individual arrived at the residence and discovered Clayton unresponsive. Authorities later determined she had died from a gunshot wound, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).
KOCO reported that deputies were dispatched to the home around 6:45 p.m. and that Clayton “suffered injuries consistent with homicide.”
Sheriff calls case ‘heartbreaking’
Bryan County Sheriff Joey W. Tucker described the death as “heartbreaking.”
“A young mother’s life was taken, and that is something no family, no friends, and no community should ever have to endure. On behalf of the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, I want to extend our deepest and most sincere condolences to everyone who loved her. Our prayers are with her family and friends as they walk through unimaginable grief,” Tucker said in a statement posted to Facebook.
He added that the case is “especially tragic” given the age of the alleged offender.
“There are no winners in a situation like this. Two lives and two futures are forever changed. As a father, as a member of this community and as your Sheriff, I cannot express strongly enough how heavy this weighs on all of us. We recognize that there is pain on multiple sides of this tragedy, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted,” Tucker said.
Sources: People, KXII, KOCO, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
