In the winter of 2015, 42-year-old Brandy Helbock-Castaneda was reported missing by her sister in Kansas City, Missouri, last seen on December 5th. The search for Brandy came to a tragic end on January 8, 2016, when city workers made a grim discovery in the 4900 block of Brooklyn Avenue. While on their route, they found her naked body inside a black trash bag. The Jackson County Medical Examiner would later determine that she died from blunt force trauma.
For two years, the case of who killed Brandy Castaneda remained unsolved, leaving her family searching for answers. The initial investigation offered few leads, but a breakthrough came from DNA evidence collected from the scene. A DNA sample from a rope found around her hips and another from her ankle were matched to Kevin O. Hurley Sr., a man who was out on parole after serving nearly three decades for a prior murder and first-degree robbery. When questioned, Hurley denied knowing Brandy.
Further DNA testing excluded Hurley's son as a contributor, solidifying the case against him. In December 2020, a Jackson County judge found Kevin Hurley Sr., then 62, guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Brandy Castaneda. Though he had been released from prison in 2013, this new conviction sent him back. In March 2021, Hurley was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her murder, bringing a long-awaited measure of justice to Brandy's family.
