A 13-year-old boy from Oklahoma has been placed in a juvenile detention center in Texas after a woman was found dead inside of his home.
The Bryan County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement via Facebook on Monday, March 2, in which they identified 31-year-old Malary Clayton as the victim found dead inside of the home. Meanwhile, the juvenile has not been publicly named since he is a minor.
Investigators said that the child was the primary suspect in the woman’s killing, which authorities say happened in Colbert, Oklahoma, on Friday, February 27, according to KXII.
The outlet reported that an unidentified individual arrived at the home and found Clayton, who was already dead. The person called authorities and the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office later contacted the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI). The departments ultimately determined that she died from injuries sustained from a gunshot wound.
Police said that Clayton “suffered injuries consistent with homicide,” according to KOCO.
After Clayton’s body was found, a missing person’s alert was issued by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for the 13-year-old boy. Authorities later learned that the boy traveled “south of the Oklahoma/Texas border.”
“It was the next day, early morning hours, around 6:30 of the 28th, when the 13-year-old was found and placed into custody by the sheriff’s office in that area,” OSBI public information manager Hunter McKee announced in a statement on Sunday, March 1.
Sheriff Joey W. Tucker also issued a statement about the tragedy via the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page.
“The loss of Malary Clayton is heartbreaking. A young mother’s life was taken, and that is something no family, no friends, and no community should ever have to endure,” he wrote. “On behalf of the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, I want to extend our deepest and most sincere condolences to everyone who loved her. Our prayers are with her family and friends as they walk through unimaginable grief.”
Tucker went on to say that the case was “especially tragic because it involves a 13-year-old child.”
“There are no winners in a situation like this. Two lives and two futures are forever changed. As a father, as a member of this community and as your Sheriff, I cannot express strongly enough how heavy this weighs on all of us,” he wrote. “We recognize that there is pain on multiple sides of this tragedy, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted.”
After noting that the investigation into Clayton’s death remains ongoing, Tucker said that police “will continue to work closely with the District Attorney’s Office as the legal process moves forward.”
“Right now, our focus is on compassion, on truth, and on supporting our community through this difficult time. We ask that everyone allow space for the families involved to grieve privately and respectfully,” Tucker said. “Please keep them in your prayers.”
The statement concluded, “Bryan County is a strong community. In moments like this, we lean on one another, we lean on our faith, and we move forward together.”
