A reported suicide of an Indiana woman turned out to be a murder, her fiance told police officers. The woman’s mother now says, looking back, that there were red flags in the relationship.
Kaylyn Whitaker, 20, was killed by a gunshot on Oct. 31, 2014. Authorities probed the case as a suicide, based partially on the word of her fiance, Connor Scott, before shifting it to a homicide case but not making any arrests.
Scott appeared in court in March and pleaded not guilty.
Family and friends said that their initial impression of Scott was positive, but looking back, some red flags were now apparent.
Elizabeth Grassick, a close friend and co-worker, told the magazine that the couple was “in love,” but recalled one of their last times together before Whitaker’s death.
They were at Grassick’s home and Whitaker was in the shower. Scott was “blowing up my phone,” she said. When Whitaker got out of the shower and picked up her own phone, there were numerous missed calls and voicemails.
“I was like, ‘oh my god, that’s really obsessive,'” said Grassick.
“He would continually check on her, making sure she was doing what she said she was,” said Roberts. “He didn’t like her being with her friends.”
“[What] we’ve lost with our Kaylyn isn’t measurable, it’s a nightmare and you have to wake up every day to the same nightmare every single day,” she said. “It’s respect for Kaylyn. It is such a great honor for our story and Kaylyn’s story to be publicized.”
The story printed in the magazine will focus on the couple falling in love and Scott becoming controlling and possessive, the broadcaster reported.
Roberts said she hopes people living in similar situations can escape those kinds of relationships.
“Kaylyn lived her life as the movie sleeping with the enemy. And, of course, that broke my heart. She wasn’t able to get out of this relationship,” said Roberts. “It’s always going to hurt cause we don’t have Kaylyn anymore. Maybe other people might be able to see the signs of abuse being a victim of this type of relationship.”
“It’s been the most devastating thing that we’ve had to go through and me as a mother especially. Kaylyn and I were very close. Not only was she my daughter, she was my best friend and I ache for her every day,” she added.
Obituary
According to Whitaker’s obituary, she graduated from Terre Haute North Vigo High School in the class of 2013.She enjoyed playing the cello in the orchestra “and had a brilliant sense of creativity as a wonderful artist,” family members wrote.
“Kaylyn was very loved and will be deeply missed. She will always be her mama’s baby girl and best friend,” the obituary added.
“It is a loving comfort knowing she is now in the arms of ‘LaLa,’ safe and sound. Kaylyn lived by the motto: ‘You only have one life ... use it.’”
