Suspect In Weleetka Girls' Murders Says He Shot 'Two Monsters'

The Okfuskee County District Attorney filed first degree murder charges against Kevin Joe Sweat in the deaths of two Weleetka girls on Friday.

Sweat is charged in the murders of 13-year-old Taylor Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities plan to seek the death penalty.

On June 8, 2008, Skyla Taylor were shot and killed about 100 yards from Taylor's rural Okfuskee County home.

11/3/2011 Related Story: OSBI Searches For Breaks In Weleetka Murder Case

Kevin Sweat is already in jail, charged with killing his fiance, Ashley Celeste Taylor, in July of 2011.  

There is no known motive for Sweat in the Weleetka murders, said Stan Florence, director of the OSBI. 

According to an affidavit filed in the case, Sweat told investigators that on June 8, 2008, he was driving his black Chevrolet Cavalier on North 3890 Road in Okfuskee County when he pulled over and "saw two monsters" come at him.

Read The Affidavit

Sweat told investigators he "panicked," so he grabbed his .40 caliber handgun from between the seats and "shot the monsters" with the Glock.   He said he then grabbed a .22 caliber gun from his glove box and "shot the monsters."  

He then got in his car and left, according to the affidavit.

11/3/2011 Related Story: Man Jailed In Fiancee's Murder May Be Linked To Weleetka Murders

The OSBI says it has identified one of the two weapons used in the murder as a .40 caliber Glock model 22 with serial number EKG463US. The OSBI says Sweat may have tried to sell that gun at a gun show in Tulsa last March.

The OSBI is offering up to a $5,000 reward for that firearm.

Ashley Taylor's family says Sweat admitted to owning the gun that killed the two girls.  They say he told them he sold the gun before the girls were murdered. 

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The arrest affidavit details how the Glock and shell casings led the OSBI back to Sweat:

• The OSBI first interviewed Sweat about the murders in January of 2010, after receiving information that he had purchased a Glock .40 caliber handgun in the fall of 2007.  In that interview, Sweat told the OSBI agent he had sold the gun in 2007 and did not know its serial number.
• Agents later learned the serial number for Sweat's Glock was EKG463US.  It had been sent to a gun dealer in Oklahoma in 2006, where it was eventually bought by Kevin Sweat.
• In August of 2011, agents searched property near Weleetka owned by Kevin Sweat's father, Curtis.  The elder Sweat had previously told them his son sometimes shot his guns there.  The OSBI found shell casings from a .40 caliber gun and determined they matched the casings found at the scene of the murders.
• In September 2011, an FBI trace revealed that the Glock with serial number EKG463US had previously been owned by the Baltimore Police Department, which still had a shell casing from it.  The OSBI then determined that that casing matched the casings found at the scene of the murders.
• On September 13, 2011, an OSBI agent interviewed Kevin Sweat who waived his rights and made a statement about the shooting.

The OSBI is also looking for the .22 caliber handgun.  The Bureau doesn't know its serial number and since it's a much more common type of firearm tracking it down will probably be more difficult than finding the Glock.

The OSBI says it's releasing two photographs of Sweat. One is the booking photo taken when he was arrested and subsequently charged with the murder of Ashley Taylor.  The other photo was taken around the time of the Weleetka murders.

The OSBI hopes the photos will lead to more tips about Sweat's activities on the day of the murders.

When told of today's development, Ashley Taylor's father, Mike, said, "I'm glad the family of those two little girls is going to get some justice."