A Kentucky man accused of kidnapping and murdering a mother of three before allegedly hiding her body under his trailer and attempting to dump her off a bridge is finally set to face trial years after the horrifying case first shocked the state.
According to court records, Ryan Todd Crawley, 42, of Sadieville, Kentucky, is scheduled to go on trial beginning May 17, 2027, in connection with the 2019 death of April Arnett, a 39-year-old mother from Lexington.
Crawley was indicted earlier this year on charges of murder, kidnapping, and tampering with physical evidence.
Court records show he previously pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering charges, but pleaded not guilty to murder and kidnapping.
Authorities say the disturbing case dates back to August 2019, when a woman’s body was discovered on the side of Old Lexington Road in Madison County, Kentucky.
The remains were later identified as Arnett.
Investigators allege Crawley killed Arnett on Aug. 13, 2019.
According to the indictment, Crawley allegedly wrapped Arnett’s body in a tarp and hid it underneath his trailer after the killing.
Prosecutors claim he later enlisted the help of his cousin, Ronald Doug Crawley, to dispose of the body.
The indictment alleges the pair loaded Arnett’s body into a vehicle with cinder blocks attached to the tarp and drove to Madison County intending to throw her remains off the Old Clays Ferry Bridge.
But according to prosecutors, their alleged plan failed after the body reportedly became stuck on a guy wire attached to the bridge.
Authorities claim the men then put the body back into the vehicle and later dumped Arnett’s remains on the side of the road, where they were eventually discovered.
The case led to multiple arrests over the years.
Ryan Crawley was first arrested in August 2019 on charges connected to evidence tampering and abuse of a corpse.
His cousin Ronald Crawley was later arrested in Oregon in October 2019 on similar charges.
Five additional people were also indicted in connection with the alleged crime, including James Watson, Bridget Lyons, Jenny Keller, and Ronald Crawley.
Authorities allege several of the co-defendants helped kidnap Arnett and assisted in covering up the crime.
According to court records, Watson and Lyons are also accused of helping destroy or remove evidence tied to the case.
Ryan Crawley remains locked up at the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex while awaiting trial.
Meanwhile, Arnett’s family says the pain of losing her has never gone away.
Her sister, Cara Parsons, previously described learning that Arnett’s body had been found abandoned on the side of the road as “a punch in the gut.”
“And one of those things that you’re like no, I don’t believe it,” Parsons said.
She also remembered her sister as a loving mother devoted to her children.
“She loved her children,” Parsons said. “She loved them until the day she died.”
Crawley’s attorney has not publicly commented on the case.
He looks like he is smiling as if this was a dating profile Pic? POS