Jillian Mae Clayton, a 40-year-old female, was found deceased near her home in Morehead, Kentucky, on Friday, December 11, 2020. A graduate of Morehead State University, she had been working as a private caregiver.
Concerns for Clayton's welfare arose after she was last seen on Thanksgiving, November 26, 2020, with her boyfriend, Gary Jefferies. Family members grew worried when Jefferies attended Thanksgiving dinner alone, claiming Clayton was sick.
When family members went to check on her, they discovered the food she had prepared for the holiday, along with her phone, purse, and keys, at her residence.
A search effort was launched, and tragically, a group of her friends found her body in a remote area less than two miles from her home. An autopsy later confirmed that she had died from a single gunshot wound.
Following the discovery of her body, Clayton's boyfriend, Gary Jefferies, was arrested and charged with murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence. Reports indicated that Jefferies had driven to Louisville shortly after Thanksgiving and was arrested there four days after Clayton's disappearance, initially on a charge of being a felon in possession of a handgun.
