Judge Rules Okfuskee County Murder Case Will Go To Trial

An Okfuskee County judge ruled Tuesday the man accused of killing his girlfriend, Ashley Taylor, last summer will stand trial for first degree murder.

Kevin Sweat is also accused of killing two Weleetka girls, Skyla Whitaker, 11, and Taylor Paschal Placker, 13, in 2008.

Authorities say the killings are unrelated, but they when they investigated Taylor's death, they found shell casings allegedly linking Sweat to the death of Whitaker and Placker.

A court hearing in late April for Sweat was postponed until Tuesday in Okemah.

During Tuesday's preliminary hearing, the state called several witnesses including Ashley Taylor's mom and Kevin Sweat's father. 

Patricia Taylor told the court she last saw her daughter on July 15, 2011.  Patricia said Ashley told her and Kevin were going to get haircuts and then in leave for Louisiana to get married. 

Ashley told her mom she would be back by the end of the month, but she never returned.

"I want to punch him," Patricia Taylor said. "He needs to be like what he did to Ashley. He needs to be burned."

Kevin Sweat's father, Curtis Sweat said on July 17, 2011, he went to a house he was building in Okmulgee and found a fire burning nearby which he extinguished. 

The next day, Curtis said he again saw the fire and also found a small ring nearby. Kevin never told him who the ring belonged to. 

Earlier, Ashley's mom mentioned a similar ring that her daughter had.

4/23/2012 Related Story: Victim's Family Disappointed At Court Delay For Accused Weleetka Killer

Meanwhile, the judge set a November 5, 2012 preliminary hearing date for Kevin Sweat for the Weleetka killings.