On a summer evening in Salem, Arkansas, 57-year-old Kristy Marie Taylor, a female employee of the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, was found dead in the driveway of her Fawnwood Road home. It was just before 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, 2022, when her body was discovered, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound. The Arkansas State Police were called in by local authorities to take the lead on what was being investigated as a homicide.
Her body was subsequently transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for an autopsy to determine the official cause and manner of death.
The investigation into her death continued for several months. In the weeks leading up to the incident, Kristy had taken legal steps to end her marriage; she had filed for divorce from her husband, Harvey John Taylor, in June of 2022, and a judge had issued a restraining order for both parties. The investigation uncovered allegations that Harvey John Taylor had offered another man $5,000 to kill Kristy and her dog. This information became a key part of the developing case against him.
In January 2023, authorities made two arrests in connection with Kristy's murder. Her husband, 49-year-old Harvey John Taylor, was taken into custody at a residence in Fulton County. Due to Kristy's employment with the local sheriff's office, he was moved from the Fulton County Jail to the Baxter County Jail. A second suspect, identified as Thomas Sanchez, was apprehended in Texas by the U.S. Marshal Service to await extradition. Both men were charged with first-degree murder, and their bonds were set at $1 million each.
After a five-day trial that concluded in January 2024, a jury found Harvey John Taylor not guilty of his wife's murder. The second man charged in her death, 52-year-old Thomas Glenn Sanches, was scheduled to face trial in April 2024.
