Kayla Wright was a 29-year-old White woman from Derby, Vermont, who was deeply loved by her family. Her twin sister described her as "my person, my best friend." Kayla had graduated from North Country Union High School, where she played soccer and basketball, and she enjoyed fishing, kayaking, and spending time with family. In the days before her death, she had apologized to her family for her struggle with addiction and was planning to enter a 90-day recovery program.
On February 2,
2024, Kayla was at a residence on Vermont Route 100 in Troy that was known for drug activity. Early that morning, she was shot multiple times and killed during a dispute. Investigators later determined the motive was related to a drug trafficking operation, and the shooter feared Kayla was going to report his illegal activities to the police. She was last seen alive that day.
Four days later, on February 6, a member of the public discovered a large container, described as a truck-bed-style toolbox, on a sandbar in the Missisquoi River in Troy. Inside was the body of Kayla Wright. An autopsy at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed her identity and determined that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Her death was officially ruled a homicide.
The investigation quickly led police to the home on Route 100. By July 2024, authorities had charged three men in connection with the murder. Jakiy Tramaine Corey Keith, 24, of Hartford, Connecticut, was identified as the man who shot Kayla. Two other men, Aaron Camp, 34, of Derby, and Terron Pendleton, 34, of Waterbury, were accused of helping Keith clean the crime scene afterward. Police alleged that Camp also assisted Keith in placing Kayla’s body in the toolbox and disposing of it in the river.
Aaron Camp later pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and to the unauthorized removal of a body. In April 2026, he was sentenced to a prison term of seven to ten years. Terron Pendleton was also charged as an accessory after the fact and was sentenced for his role.
In February 2026, Jakiy Tramaine Corey Keith pleaded guilty to reduced charges of second-degree murder and unauthorized removal of a body. A judge called the killing a crime of domestic violence. As of his sentencing in September 2026, Keith was ordered to serve 30 years to life in prison.
