Was this 12 year old girl's boyfriend responsible for her murder? On a Sunday afternoon in Greeley, Colorado, 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson left her home with plans to meet a friend at the local mall before heading to a birthday party together. It was March 28, 2010, the last time her family would see her alive. When she failed to return home by her 7:00 PM curfew, her mother began to worry, and by 10:00 PM, she was reported as a missing person to the Greeley Police Department.
Initially considered a possible runaway, that theory was quickly dismissed when investigators learned she never met her friend nor made it to the party. This marked the beginning of an extensive search involving local police, the FBI, and concerned community members who distributed missing person posters.
The search for Kayleah stretched on for nearly two months, leaving her family and the community on edge. Then, on the morning of May 19, 2010, a worker discovered her body in an irrigation ditch less than a mile from her home. The discovery confirmed the community's worst fears, and the case officially transitioned into a homicide investigation. Due to the condition of her remains, an immediate cause of death was not publicly released, though it was ruled a murder.
During the investigation into her disappearance, a significant person of interest emerged: 18-year-old Robert Montoya, with whom Kayleah had been in a relationship. On the same day her body was found, Montoya was arrested on charges of sexual assault on a child, stemming from his admitted relationship with the young girl. While he was a person of interest in her murder, he was never formally charged in her death. Montoya was later convicted of the sexual assault charges and sentenced to prison. However, his conviction was appealed and eventually overturned, leading to the charges being dropped in 2016.
To this day, the murder of Kayleah Wilson remains unsolved, and no arrests have been made in connection with her death. In the years following her death, Greeley police have stated that they believe they know who is responsible for her murder but have not been able to gather enough evidence to secure a conviction. The case continues to be an open investigation, leaving a lasting scar on the Greeley community and a family still waiting for justice for their daughter.
