In the summer of 2015, the life of 19-year-old Meagan Lee Hassler of Louisville, Kentucky, was tragically cut short. A young white female, Meagan was a mother to a two-year-old son named Eli, whom her father described as the love of her life. Her family's world was turned upside down when she was reported missing by her father. The search for Meagan ended in heartbreak on June 23, 2015, when her partially clothed body was discovered in a wooded ravine in Bullitt County, just over the Jefferson
County line. The cause of her death was determined to be a fatal shooting.
The investigation into Meagan's disappearance and murder quickly led to two individuals: 45-year-old Todd Byrd and 22-year-old Monica Mudd. The case broke open when Mudd turned herself into the Louisville Metro Police and confessed to her involvement in the crime. According to Mudd's statement to the police, she and Byrd abducted Meagan on June 17, 2015. They believed that Meagan had stolen drugs from them. In their search for the missing drugs, they forced Meagan to undress and physically searched her. When their efforts to find the drugs were unsuccessful, they drove her to Pendleton Hill Road. It was there that she was shot and killed, her body left several feet from the road.
Following Mudd's confession, both she and Todd Byrd were arrested and faced charges of murder and kidnapping. Their bonds were set at $750,000 each. In the course of the legal proceedings, Monica Mudd accepted a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, and robbery, resulting in a 20-year prison sentence. As a condition of her plea agreement, Mudd agreed to testify against her co-defendant, Todd Byrd. The tragic death of Meagan Hassler left her family and friends devastated, prompting vigils and community support to honor the memory of the young mother whose life was violently taken.
