STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

 

Vermont State Police makes arrests in connection with February homicide in Troy

 

TROY, Vermont (Wednesday, July 17, 2024) — The Vermont State Police on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, arrested two suspects in connection with the February homicide of Kayla Wright, 29, of Derby.

 

Aaron Camp, 34, of Derby faces charges of unauthorized burial or removal of a body, and being an accessory after the fact to murder.

 

Terron “Josh” Pendleton, 34, of Waterbury faces one count of being an accessory after the fact to murder.

 

In addition, VSP detectives have applied for an arrest warrant for Jakiy Tramaine Corey Keith, 24, of Hartford, Connecticut, on charges of second-degree murder and unauthorized burial or removal of a body. Keith has been in custody since his arrest Feb. 6 on federal drug charges.

 

The state police investigation revealed that Keith shot Wright multiple times early in the morning on Feb. 2, 2024, inside a home on Vermont Route 100 in Troy. The shooting arose from a dispute related to drug trafficking in northern Vermont. Camp and Pendleton assisted with cleaning up the crime scene following the shooting. Camp assisted Keith in disposing of Wright’s body in a large toolbox in the area of Big Falls on the Missisquoi River in Troy.

 

Camp and Pendleton are expected to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Newport. A court hearing for Keith has yet to be scheduled.

 

No additional details are currently available. The affidavits of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following the suspects’ arraignments. Members of the media should contact the Court Clerk’s Office to confirm details of the hearings.

 

 

***Update No. 1, 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024***

An autopsy was completed late Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 7, 2024, on the woman whose body was discovered Tuesday in the town of Troy.

 

The victim’s identity was confirmed as Kayla Wright, 29, of Derby. The autopsy at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington determined the cause of her death was a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death is a homicide.

 

The Vermont State Police investigation into this incident is active and ongoing. Wednesday, investigators conducted interviews with people who might have relevant information and carried out a court-ordered search warrant at a home on Vermont Route 100 in Troy for evidence that could be connected to the homicide. VSP has no one in custody related to this homicide.

 

The state police, including VSP’s Narcotics Investigation Unit, is receiving assistance on this case from the Newport Police Department, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department and the federal agency Homeland Security Investigations.

 

Police ask that anyone with information that could assist investigators call the state police barracks in Derby at 802-334-8881 or provide an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

 

The state police will continue to share updates as the investigation progresses.

 

 

***Initial news release, 12:55 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024***

The Vermont State Police is investigating a suspicious death in the town of Troy in Orleans County.

 

VSP received a call at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, from a member of the public who reported having discovered a possible human body inside a large container on a sand bar in the Missisquoi River in the area of Big Falls of Missisquoi State Park on River Road. Troopers responded to the location and confirmed the presence of a deceased adult woman. The scene was secured and processed for evidence. The body was subsequently transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to confirm identity and to determine the cause and manner of death.

 

The body was located during the missing-persons investigation related to Kayla Wright, 29, of Derby, who was last seen in Troy early Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

 

The Vermont State Police investigation into this suspicious death continued through the night and is active and ongoing at this time. Troopers are conducting interviews and carrying out search warrants. Members of VSP’s Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Field Force Division, Crime Scene Search Team and Victim Services Unit are all involved in the case. No one is currently in custody. Initial investigation indicates this is an isolated incident, and there are no indications of a threat to the community.

 

Anyone with information that could assist state police with this investigation is asked to call the Derby Barracks at 802-334-8881. Tips also may be submitted anonymously online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

 

No further information is currently available. VSP will provide updates as the case progresses.

 

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