Chilling photos have surfaced showing a woman accused of murdering a mother, 38, by pushing her off a cliff, posing near the alleged Alabama murder site.
Loretta Kay Carr, 43, and her daughter Jessie Kelly, 21, were both charged with murder on Sunday, two years after Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 38, went missing.
Authorities searched far and wide for Isbell’s body, but could find no trace of the missing mother in Hartselle, Alabama until this week.
Two days after Carr and her daughter were detained, Isbell’s remains were found.
It now appears that in 2019 Carr shared a photo of himself at the murder scene, posing in January 2019 at the Little River Canyon National Reserve.
Loretta Kay Carr posted this photo to Facebook in January 2019 of herself at the site where Isbell’s body was found this week
Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 38, was last seen in the fall of 2021. She was officially reported missing in January 2022 and two women were arrested on Sunday on charges of her kidnapping and murder. Isbell’s remains were found Tuesday in an Alabama wildlife refuge
Loretta Carr (left) and her daughter Jessie Kelly (right) have both been arrested and charged with Isbell’s murder
Carr posed on the national preserve with her fiancé, Robert Mitcham
“Day trip to Little River Canyon and Falls,” she wrote as she posted photos of herself with her fiancé Robert Mitcham.
“Was nice and only a short distance from home.”
Carr has been incarcerated since Sunday at the DeKalb County Jail in Fort Payne, Alabama.
She is charged with kidnapping and capital murder, with the police saying she pushed Isbell off a cliff – but Carr insists there is no evidence.
Carr’s lawyers argue the state doesn’t have enough evidence to warrant incarceration or to send the case to a grand jury, AL.com reported.
Her daughter was arrested in Pennsylvania and is being extradited to Alabama.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 21.
Isbell, 38, led a troubled life leading up to her disappearance. Her boyfriend was in prison and then in rehab, and she moved from place to place. She was reported missing by her family in late 2021 after disappearing from her home in Hartselle, Alabama
Carr, 43, of Fort Payne, was charged with capital murder on Sunday and faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted
Her teenage son has since posted a heartbreaking tribute to his mother, sharing a link to Carr’s arrest, writing: “I love you forever, like you forever, as long as I live, you will be my mama”
Carr is accused of kidnapping Beth before pushing her off a cliff on October 18, 2021.
It is not clear how the women knew each other.
DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said, “We would like to thank the Pennsylvania State Police Corry Barracks, Huntsville Search Dog Unit, State of Alabama Aviation Unit, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Fischer Rescue Squad and all the volunteers who assisted during this investigation. their hard work and dedication.
“Each individual played an important role in bringing Beth home and holding those responsible for this heinous crime accountable.
“We’d like to ask that you pray for Beth’s family and give them privacy as they navigate through this difficult time.”
Beth’s ex-husband, Steven Isbell, declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com but had posted on social media asking for help in searching for his son Skylar’s mother
Carr’s lawyers claim there is no evidence she killed Beth (pictured) and claim there is no connection between the two women
The timeline of her disappearance remains confused.
In the months leading up to her disappearance, she was suspected of robbery in DeKalb County.
The sheriff’s office said the theft involved an apartment where she lived with her boyfriend, James Allen Wright.
James Wright was arrested by the sheriff’s office in September 2021 and released to Florida rehab in November 2021.
The sheriff’s office said that while in jail, Isbell was essentially homeless, moving between friends’ homes and “living wherever she could in DeKalb County.”
Her mother, Debbie Wood, told a local news station last year that Isbell got caught up in a “bad” mob.
“I think she got mixed up with some of the wrong people,” she said.
She described Isbell’s relationship with Wright as “new but troubled,” and said they always got into fights.
Carr is accused of kidnapping Isbell and pushing her off a cliff on October 18, 2021.
Still, according to another police report, she visited her mother’s home in Hartselle on November 22, 2021.
She was spotted the next day, November 23, 2021, across the street from her son’s school, also in Hartselle.
Isbell’s ex-husband, Steven Isbell, said she was missing on December 27, 2021.
Isbell was living in DeKalb County with her boyfriend James Allen Wright (right) when she disappeared from their home in Hartselle
Authorities previously said Isbell was last seen on November 23, 2021 visiting her mother in her hometown of Hartselle
News of Carr’s arrest for her murder came two days before what would have been her 39th birthday
“Hate to put this on social media here, but Facebook covers a wide area,” he wrote.
‘[Her son] hasn’t heard from his mom since September 6th on his birthday and he’s really worried about her because she always calls him on vacation anyway.
“I have spoken to her family and no one has heard from her. So we thought about filing a missing person report.’
Harselle Police Department detectives searched the house where Isbell was staying on the day of Steve Isbell’s Facebook post, December 27, 2021.
Physical evidence was taken from the house and entered into a national database, but no match was found at the time.
Relatives officially reported her missing to the Hartselle Police Department and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office in January 2022, and a missing persons poster was posted on their website on January 19, 2022.
The case remained silent until June 20 of this year, when DeKalb County investigators received information about Isbell’s disappearance and interviewed two people in connection with her murder.
Carr was arrested on June 25.
Agents discovered the remains on June 28, and forensics confirmed they belonged to Isbell on June 30 — which would have been her 39th birthday.
Her teenage son posted a tribute to his mother, sharing a link to Carr’s arrest and writing, “I love you forever, as you forever, as long as I live, you will be my mama.”