The Tragic Story of Sarah Haley Foxwell: Kidnapped & Murdered at Just 8 Years Old
Jaycee Lee Dugard is seen in this undated photo provided by her step father William Carl Probyn. A woman walked in into a San Francisco Bay area police station Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2009, saying she was Jaycee Lee Dugard, a blond, pony tailed girl who was abducted as she headed to a school bus stop 18 years ago, said sheriff's Lt. Les Lovell of the El Dorado Sheriff's Department.(AP Photo/ William Carl Probyn via the Orange County Register) Original Filename: Kidnapped_girl_found_CAANR502.jpg
The story of 8-year old Sarah Haley Foxwell is tragic, shocking, and heartbreaking all at the same time. Born in 2002, she was just one of those girls that seemed destined for greatness from the moment she was born. Her father loved her dearly, her mother adored her, and she had a bright future ahead of her when it all came to an abrupt end during the summer of 2006…
Phone Calls
December 10th, 2015 will forever be a day in infamy. It’s the day that 8-year-old Sarah Haley Foxwell was kidnapped and murdered. Her father, Christopher Foxwell, had been taking pictures with her around their hometown of Lubbock, Texas when they were approached by a man who asked to take a picture with them.
The man then grabbed Sarah’s arm and attempted to pull her away from her dad before he managed to wrestle his daughter back into his grasp. He immediately called the police and attempted to chase after the kidnapper but lost him in the crowd. Sarah’s kidnapper would not be caught until December 20th when he took an 18-year old woman hostage in Oklahoma City.
Later Phone Calls
Sarah’s mother, Elizabeth, last spoke to her daughter early on Saturday morning. She was talking about the dance and how she was excited, Elizabeth said. The next call came later in the day, when Elizabeth knew something had gone horribly wrong. I answered my phone and all I could hear were screams and I heard Sarah say ‘Mommy’ over and over again, she said. I just screamed and then the line went dead. And that was it.
She’s never seen or heard from Sarah since. There are so many what ifs that keep me up at night, says Elizabeth, who also has a son with autism. I wonder if they ever gave her food or water or if they hurt her. It just seems impossible not to have noticed anything.
Two Suspects Arrested
On April 20th, 2018, two suspects were arrested in connection to the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Haley Foxwell. The suspects are identified as Charles A. Hayslett Jr., and a 15-year-old boy who has been charged as an adult. They were arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Sarah was just 8 years old when she was kidnapped from her home in Duncanville, Texas on February 18th, 2018. Her body was found two days later with multiple gunshot wounds to the head about 2 miles from her home.
Felony Charges Filed Against the Suspects
Police have just filed felony charges against the two suspects in the abduction and murder of 8-year old Sarah Haley Foxwell. The suspects, Joseph Prieto and Denise Pacheco, were arraigned on Wednesday morning in Santa Clara County Court.
Prieto is charged with four felonies including kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, first degree burglary and first degree robbery while Pacheco is charged with three felonies including kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and first degree burglary. If convicted of all charges they each face life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
Confessions by the Suspects
I will just kill her, the suspects said. So what? She is just a little girl and will have nobody. Why would anyone care? This story is about Sarah Haley Foxwell who was kidnapped and murdered in 1989 by her mother’s friend.
Sarah was just eight years old when she disappeared in Augsburg Township, Michigan on July 1st, 1989. She had walked away from a fireworks display at an amusement park with two adults that were strangers to her family but whom she had been playing with before the show.
Body Found in River
Sarah Haley Foxwell was just eight years old when she was kidnapped and murdered in February of 1992. She was taken from her home and never seen alive again, until her body was found months later in the Ohio River. After being missing for nearly three weeks, Sarah’s mother Janice reported her daughter as missing to police.
Search parties were set up by friends and family to search through parks near the family’s neighborhood but there were no signs of the young girl. On March 3rd, 1992, a jogger noticed an object that looked like a child’s arm floating downstream off Creek Road Bridge and called authorities before jumping into the frigid water to retrieve it.
News Coverage of Investigation Leads to Additional Tips
Mathew Woodall and Brian Crenshaw were arrested and charged with the kidnapping and murder of 8-year old Sarah Haley Foxwell. The two men abducted her from a convenience store parking lot while she was waiting for her mother to return from shopping. Woodall plead guilty to kidnapping and murdering the child, but maintains that he did not rape her.
Crenshaw pleaded guilty to being an accomplice in the crime, which resulted in him receiving a life sentence without parole.
Sentencing of Mathew Woodall & Brian Crenshaw (Crenshaw Pleads Guilty)
Mathew Woodall and Brian Crenshaw have been sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 8-year-old Sarah Haley Foxwell. Mathew Woodall plead guilty, while Brian Crenshaw plead not guilty but changed his plea to guilty just before trial began.
In court, Woodall’s attorney read a statement on his behalf that admitted responsibility for the crime. The girl’s body was found naked and wrapped in a blanket off a dirt road in West Virginia. She had been raped, tortured, and killed by both men
