An Alabama woman accused of killing a mother by pushing her off a cliff faces the death penalty.
Loretta Kay Carr, 44, and her daughter Jessie Kelly, 22, were charged with murder in June 2023, nearly two years after Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 38, disappeared.
Authorities searched high and low for Isbell’s body, but were unable to find any trace of the missing mother from Hartselle, Alabama, until last year.
It was learned that Carr shared a photo of herself at the scene of the murder in January 2019 in the Little River Canyon National Reserve.
Now, the state of Alabama has notified Carr’s defense team that it will seek the death penalty.
Alabama woman Loretta Kay Carr, accused of killing mother by pushing her off a cliff, faces death penalty
The 44-year-old woman and her daughter Jessie Kelly, 22, were charged with murder in June 2023, almost two years after Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 38, disappeared.
Authorities searched everywhere for Isbell’s body (pictured) but were unable to find any trace of the missing mother from Hartselle, Alabama, until last year.
Court documents filed reveal that Alabama prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Carr.
Carr and her daughter were detained three days before Isbell’s remains were located.
Photos of her at the murder site later emerged and she wrote: “Day trip to Little River Canyon and Falls.”
“It was beautiful and just a little far from the house.”
Carr has been held at the DeKalb County Jail in Fort Payne, Alabama.
She is accused of kidnapping and capital murder, but Carr insists there is no evidence.
Carr’s attorneys previously argued that the state does not have enough evidence to justify confinement or send the case to a grand jury.
His daughter was arrested in Pennsylvania and extradited to Alabama.
Carr is accused of kidnapping Isbell before pushing her off a cliff on October 18, 2021.
It is unclear how the women met.
DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden previously said: “We would like to thank the Pennsylvania State Police, Corry Barracks, the Huntsville Search Dog Unit, the Alabama State Aviation Unit, the Jackson County, the Fischer Rescue Squad and all the volunteers who assisted during this investigation for all their efforts and dedication.
‘Each individual played an important role in bringing Beth home and holding those responsible for this horrible crime accountable.
“We ask that you pray for Beth’s family and provide them with privacy as they go through this difficult time.”
Isbell was last seen in the fall of 2021. She was officially reported missing in January 2022 and two women were arrested last June on charges of her kidnapping and murder. Isbell’s remains were found in an Alabama nature reserve
It was learned that Carr posed next to the murder site in January 2019 in the Little River Canyon National Reserve.
Carr, of Fort Payne, was charged with capital murder and faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
The timeline of Isbell’s disappearance remains confusing.
In the months before his disappearance, a robbery was suspected in DeKalb County.
The sheriff’s office said the burglary 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 transferred to a Florida halfway house in November 2021.
The sheriff’s office said that while in jail, Isbell was essentially homeless, moving between friends’ houses and “living wherever he could in DeKalb County.”
His mother, Debbie Wood, told a local news station that Isbell got involved with some “bad” people.
“I think he got mixed up with some wrong people,” he said.
He described Isbell’s relationship with Wright as “new but troubled,” and said they always fought.
Carr is accused of kidnapping Isbell and pushing her off a cliff on October 18, 2021.
However, according to another police report, on November 22, 2021, he visited his mother’s home in Hartselle.
She was seen the next day, November 23, 2021, in front of her son’s school, also in Hartselle.
Isbell’s ex-husband, Steven Isbell, said on December 27, 2021 that she was missing.
“I actually hate posting this on social media, but Facebook covers a wide area,” he wrote.
‘(His son) hasn’t heard from his mom since September 6, his birthday, and he’s very worried about her because she always at least calls him on holidays.
Isbell was living an unstable life in the lead-up to his disappearance. Her boyfriend was in prison and then in rehab, and she moved from place to place.
Carr’s lawyers argue there is no evidence she murdered Isbell and say there is no link between the two women.
“I’ve talked to her family and no one has heard from her. So we thought about filing a missing person report.
Harselle Police detectives searched the home where Isbell was staying on the day of Steve Isbell’s Facebook post, December 27, 2021.
Physical evidence was recovered from the home and entered into a national database, but no match was found at that time.
Family members officially reported her missing in January 2022 to the Hartselle Police Department and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, and on January 19, 2022, a missing poster was placed on their website.
The case remained silent until June 20 of last 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.
Officers discovered the remains on June 28 and forensics confirmed they belonged to Isbell on June 30, which would have been his 39th birthday.
Her teenage son posted a tribute to his mother, sharing a link to Carr’s arrest, writing: “I will love you forever, like you forever, as long as I live, you will be my mom.”