Serialously with Annie Elise - 402: Group of 5 Friends Charged in Death of 16-Year-Old Teen Girl | Justice for Kayla Huff

Episode Date: May 25, 2026

In the small town of Moberly, Missouri, the disappearance of 16-year-old Kayla Huff has turned into a case filled with twists so bizarre and disturbing that it’s hard to believe it’s real. What started with a teenage girl vanishing after her car mysteriously broke down quickly spiraled into a massive investigation involving multiple arrests, shocking allegations, suspicious behavior, and rumors spreading across social media faster than investigators can confirm them. The deeper authorities dig into Kayla’s final days, the darker and more complicated this case becomes, leaving an entire community desperate to understand what really happened to her….If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. .🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.Chime Financial: Head to http://CHIME.COM/SERIALOUSLY.Jolie: Head to http://jolieskinco.com/AE to try it out for yourself with FREE shipping.O Positiv: Head to http://OPositiv.com/AE or enter AE at checkout for 25% off your first purchase.Ro-GLPS: Go to http://ro.co/ae.Neuro Gum: For a limited time, you can get 20% off your first order at http://NeuroGum.com by using code AE..👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [e-mail].📚 Episode Sources Randolph County Sheriff’s Department | Reddit••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

New details are emerging after the body of 16-year-old Kayla Huff was found in Randolph County. We came out here. We were just trying, but it's so heavily wooded. This case has deeply impacted our community. This particular fact pattern is not one thing that I have typically seen in my career. We mourn alongside this family as they face an unimaginable loss. Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serial asleep. Oh, hello, hello. And welcome back to an all new episode of Serialessly with me, your host, Annie E. Lees, also tapping in on duty to be your true crime bestie today and break down this case for you. Now, I hope you're having a

great start to your week. Happy Monday. Whether you're listening to this on your commute into work, maybe you're, I don't know, working out, you're at home. Maybe you're not even at work because it's a holiday weekend, right? Maybe you're on the beach right now. Or on a freaking boat, which like, hello, I love that for you. But wherever you are, I hope that you had a great weekend are still like maybe enjoying the break and that you're ready to listen up, crank that volume up, because we have a lot to talk about. And also, I bet some of you won't even listen to this until Tuesday because of the long holiday, which, no judgment. If you're on a boat doing fun things or on the beach, you're just like chilling at home. Like, more power to you. Like,

I love that. Self-care, man. So hope you all had to be. a great weekend, but here is what's going down today. This is a case that is happening right now in real time. Okay. And normally, we don't always cover cases that are adjudicated. Obviously not. We do talk about a lot of current event style cases. But this one is happening right now in real time with updates coming in frequently. So part of me was hesitant. I was like, maybe I want to wait a little bit. Maybe I want to wait until there's more information. but I first heard about the case last week, and since then, I have been inundated with headlines. Arrest after arrest, after arrest.

So much going on where now five people have been charged in connection with the murder of a 16-year-old girl. Now, these five people, they're young themselves, young adults, spanning from 17 years old to their mid-20s. And when I tell you, this murder plot is so. twisted, so sick, so diabolical. It's making my head explode, and that's why I knew that I didn't want to wait any longer. And I wanted to just jump on here. I wanted to share with you everything that we know. I will, I imagine that within the next few days or weeks, you will start seeing this case pop up on your feed because there's no way, there's no world in which people are not going to, that people aren't going to want to talk about this, but also that people aren't going to demand justice for

this girl, Kayla Huff. This is one of the most twisted and sickening cases that I have heard in a long time, especially because there's alleged incest going on that potentially caused this murder to happen, which I kind of actually, now that I think about it, I feel like we've been talking about incest a lot lately, unfortunately. We talked about Michaela Settles, which is horrifying. We talked about this love triangle potentially going on with the cousin and that that's why he committed murder. So I mean, I guess I don't know. I don't know what's in the water right now. But anyway, like I said, it's a wild one.

You need to buckle up. Turn your volume up. Get ready because we have a lot to go over. Now, like I said, when I first came across this case that we're going to talk about, I could not even believe what I was reading. It is so full of insanity and it truly sounds like it's the plot of a horror movie. but unfortunately, it's reality. So for today's case, I am going to take you to the very small town of Moberly. Moberly is located in Randolph County, Missouri. And when I say small town,

I truly mean it. Okay? The population is less than 14,000 people. And as you can imagine, in a small town like that, with a case that is this big, this diabolical, it has completely torn this town apart with grief, and it has left many people demanding answers from law enforcement. Now, with all of these people who are an uproar, family members, friends, community members, not only do they want to know how something so horrific happened in their small town, but they also have one thing in common. They all know each other. They want to see everyone involved be held accountable, and more than anything, they want justice for 16-year-old Kayla Huff and for her family.

I just want to make one more disclaimer before we get into the nuts and bolts of this, guys. This is a developing case. More details are going to be released because the investigation is still ongoing. So more than likely, I will be back with an update in the coming weeks, letting you know where things stand as it, you know, continues to propel forward. But also, more importantly, everything at this point is alleged. Do your own research. Form your own opinions. Everything that I am sharing is either from police reports directly or when it is speculation, I will identify it as such. So while I have scoured the internet, the case files, everything I possibly could have, or fine, I should say, because there also are two minors involved, it's difficult to get a lot of that information.

So I pulled a lot, but I also went down the rabbit hole. You know I like to do it. and I dug way deep into the corners of social media so that I could get you everything that I possibly can. And again, I will update you as more information breaks. So let's start with the timeline. It was very recent, back on May 6th, 2026th. So on the morning of May 6th, 16-year-old Kayla Huff spoke with her sister Christina before Christina left for work around 7 a.m. Then, shortly after, Kayla left her family's home leaving behind her electronics, her ID, and her debit card. However, not long after that, just a couple of hours later, around 10.18 a.m., her car broke down across the street from a.m.

An employee from the dental office spotted Kayla walking out of this car, leaving it abandoned, and then walking with a juvenile mail toward Highway Route E.E. Now this highway apparently goes toward her house. So by appearances, it seemed like, okay, her car broke down. She left it on the side of the road. She has this juvenile mill with her now, and they're walking back toward Kayla's house in that direction. This was around 10.30 a.m. Then around 3 p.m. that same day, so five hours later, Kayla's father, Mike, received a phone call from Kayla's mom. And she stated that Kayla's car was in fact abandoned on the side of the road near the Assembly Church of God on Rowland Street. But more than that, she said she couldn't get a hold of Kayla. And that was odd. That was unlike Kayla. She was always in communication with family.

She wouldn't just ghost. Also, seeing your 16-year-old daughter's car on the side of the road, abandon, and then not being able to get a hold of them, that's obviously cause for concern, right? You don't know if there was an accident. You don't know if the car broke down and she was stranded or isolated. It's worrisome. So her family immediately went to social media, saying, you know, posting all these things asking if anybody had heard from Kayla, if they had seen Kayla, what's going on?

And they knew in their gut something just was not right here. And so they immediately reported it to the police. According to the missing persons report, Kayla had last been seen wearing a Nirvana t-shirt. And they said that she could be located in the Columbia, Missouri area. So police, of course, immediately began searching that area. They also started checking local surveillance cameras because they were wanted to know, okay, the car was abandoned outside of that Smile Dental office, there's businesses nearby, there's traffic cameras, maybe we can start building a timeline here. They also had received

a lead during all of this that she may have gone to a nearby McDonald's. However, I will say that Kayla was not seen on surveillance footage entering or exiting McDonald's any time on May 5th or May 6th. Smile Dental, unfortunately, also did not have any front-facing surveillance cameras. Now, the church, it did have a camera in front of it, and that camera confirmed that Kayla was, in fact, with a juvenile male at the time that she went missing. And police didn't, it didn't take them very long. They identified the juvenile male as Kayla's boyfriend, 17-year-old Chris. Now, there has been some confusion out there, I will say, on whether or not the two of them had recently broken up, or if they were like just on a slight break, but we're getting back together.

But for the most part, people and reports are referring to him as her boyfriend rather than her ex-boyfriend. So they're all piecing this together within literally one day of her being reported missing and disappearing. The next day, on Thursday, May 7th, now having identified this juvenile male that Kayla was last seen with, the police head over to Kayla's boyfriend's house so that they could question. him, you know, hey, when's the last time you saw her? What was she saying? Where was she going? Where'd you drop her off? What's going on? They also questioned her boyfriend's older sister, 20-year-old Elena Mason. Now at some point, and again, a lot of this is under lock and key because not only is Kayla a minor, but her boyfriend is also 17 years old, he's a minor, but at some point, the sheriff detained and placed both of them into custody. And I can't even believe I'm saying this.

It is like a page torn out of the Letitia Stalk handbook. But Elena, at 20 years old, she allegedly stole the police vehicle and escaped after she was placed in custody. Which, how you even do that, I have no idea. How you have the balls to do that? I have no idea. But according to the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, Elena had been handcuffed behind her back with department-issued handcuffs. then she was placed in the front passenger seats of this fully marked patrol vehicle. But while in custody, I don't know how she did this, how, you know, how you even maneuver,

she stole his department-issued patrol vehicle, and she fled from law enforcement. Now, what's very problematic and worrisome in that, aside from just like, hello, her going on the run and stealing this cop car, is there were multiple department issued and personally owned firearms still inside that vehicle when it was stolen. So now not only has she taken off and, you know, she's evading police, she's on the run, she has a cop car, but she also has access to quite a few weapons. And that is obviously, you know, alarming. It didn't take very long, though. And approximately at 9.05 p.m., Elena ultimately was located inside a residence in Moberly.

She was actively hiding. She was refusing to comply with demands from law enforcement. and she was just, I mean, kind of not like a negotiation, but like refusing to come out. She was still wearing the department issued handcuffs on each wrist. They had been damaged. They had been cut, like the chain connecting them, you know, detached, severed. So she's not cooperating. They eventually figure, you know, get a hold of her, reprimand her.

And so she's taken back into custody. Now, at that point, she spontaneously, and I love this because there's so much more of this that we're going to get to. She spontaneously admits to stealing the cop car, as though she's proud of it, that she's gloating. She thinks she's tough, right? So the following morning, on May 8th, meanwhile, Kayla is still missing. Elena complains to the jail staff that she has poison ivy and a bad rash. Now, I want you to remember this because it's going to come into play later, and it's going to tie back a little bit, too, to how she just admitted to steal.

the cop car and kind of tells on herself a little bit. So that same day, as she's complaining about this rash while she's in jail, 19-year-old Hunter Ames, who also lived at the residence where Elena and apparently her half-brother, 17-year-old Chris, lived, he also was questioned by the sheriffs. This is at around the same time that they were now executing a search warrant at the house. Around this same time, investigators also received information from the public. that Kayla may be in the Rudolph Bennett State Wildlife Area. Now, just to give you a little bit of context about this area, this area features a heavily forested conservation area. It stretches more than 3,500 acres. It also has a lake and about 12.5

miles of extensive trail systems. So, I mean, a very large area. We're talking dense woods, rough terrain, yeah, carved out trails, but still, a pretty large area. So, I mean, a very large area. We're talking dense woods, rough terrain. yeah, carved out trails, but still a pretty, I don't want to say rural, I hate that word, but like a pretty dense area where it would be difficult to search and find things easily. Maybe that's the way to say. Now, the conservation area also included, you guessed it, poison ivy. And remember Elena was complaining about poison ivy? So by the end of the day, hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement and search,

members helped search this area on foot. They also were searching on horseback, they used drones, they were doing anything they could possibly do to try and locate Kayla. But unfortunately, they had no luck. Over the weekend, crews continued searching and continuing to hold out hope that they would either hear from Kayla, find Kayla, find some sort of trail or clue or something. And on Sunday, May 10th, as the searches were continuing, there was a prayer vigil held for Kayla at the local church. So then, fast forward just a couple of days to Wednesday, May 13th. She's now been missing for a week, all while the crews are continuing their search efforts. Now, at this same time, two more suspects, well, one new one, but two suspects in total, 23-year-old Christopher Hull, and 19-year-old Hunter Ames,

who, remember, he was the roommate, the friends, lived at the house, and was previously questioned around the time of the search warrant. Well, these two guys are also arrested, and they are charged with first-degree kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. However, at this point, there still was not a lot of information made publicly. No one knew where Kayla was. Nobody knew what happened. I mean, kidnapping. What are you talking about? Tampering with physical evidence, like nobody knew where these charges were coming from. However, at this same time, the sister, Elena, her charges were also upgraded to include first-degree kidnapping. So this now brings the total number of people involved to four. You have the brother, the sister,

the roommate friend, and another alleged connection friend, Christopher. Then, unfortunately, at around 8 p.m. that evening, a civilian resident of Randolph County found Kayla's body. Her body was inside a patch of tall brush inside that conservation area, that highly dense, you know, forested brush and terrain area. So now the pieces are starting to slowly come together. 16-year-old Kayla, unfortunately, is found deceased. And you have these four people who have been arrested, charged with kidnapping, in connection with this, people who knew her, her own boyfriend. his sister, friends, it's starting to paint a pretty dark picture. Still unclear why at this point in the case, which we'll get there, but it's starting to seem like this was a coordinated effort.

And sure enough, the very next day, on Thursday, May 14th, a fifth suspect was arrested in connection to Kayla's disappearance and now murder. This was 26-year-old Julian Mason. Now I have seen some reports that Julian and Elena are step siblings, which, I mean, it would check out based on their shared last name and their address. So it's not confirmed officially, but it looks like one of those things where, okay, the writings on the wall. It looks like there's the connection. And it makes sense that, you know, they live at the same place. They have the same last name. Like, there is a connection. So with that, it's like, oh, okay, this whole family was in on it. The step sister, she was a step-sister, a half-sister, the boyfriend.

I mean, it's so scary when you think about that. Not only that it's this group of now five people who coordinated and planned and schemed, but that three of them are family. It's freaky. So after his arrest, prosecutors upgraded the charges on all five suspects. And I want to read these charges to you. And keep in mind their age when I tell you their ages, because that I think is also what makes so much of this unnerving.

Elena Mason, 20 years old, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Also, facilitating a felony, inflicting injury, terrorizing, plus two class-D felonies for stealing a motor vehicle and stealing a firearm. Then one class E- felony for escaping custody while under arrest. So, I mean, this girl, she is going to get, like, locked up, thrown away the key, even if nothing comes or, I don't want to say nothing comes, even if there are these alleged allegations of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping are somehow fought or, you know, reduced or whatever,

she still has the other felonies for stealing the cop car, stealing the firearm, and escaping custody while under arrest. It's just 20 years old. The next suspect, Hunter Ames, the one who lived at the house as well, and was there during the search warrant at just 19 years old. Hunter was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, facilitating a felony, inflicting injury, terrorizing, and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. Christopher Hull, 23 years old, also charged with first-degree kidnapping and facilitating a felony,

inflicting injury, terrorizing, and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. Julian Mason, 26 years old, the reported step-s sibling here, he was charged with first-degree kidnapping, facilitating a felony, inflicting injury, terrorizing, and tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. Additionally, and here's where it gets a little murky, Kayla's boyfriend slash ex-boyfriend, 17-year-old Chris, he had his charges upgraded as well to first-degree murder and kidnapping. A 17-year-old, which we've been talking a lot about teenage violence and teenage killers and disturbing teens and all of that,

but a 17-year-old being charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping of his own 16-year-old girlfriend. Ugh. Now, before we get into what happened to Kayla and why her boyfriend, his sister, the stepbrother, their friends all seemingly targeted her and plotted her murder and why, I do want to share a little bit more information. about Kayla. Okay, let me tell you about something that I truly wish existed when I was younger and like trying to figure out how to adult and pay bills and deal with overdraft fees and all of it. Chime is basically changing the way that people bank because it's actually built for normal people, not the 1%. Now, what I like is there are no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and they have thousands of fee-free ATMs. Because honestly, like when you think about it, why are we still

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members all gathered at a Baptist church to remember Kayla, to pray and really pay their respects not only for Kayla, but also for her family. So they had a remembrance vigil. And I want to read you her obituary because I think sometimes the victims in these stories and cases get lost a little bit. We are so focused on the crime and the perpetrators and what happened that we know a little bit about the victim, but I think that it's important to highlight them, especially Kayla, who again was just 16 years old. Kayla Rose Huff, affectionately known to many as Kayla Bug, was a radiant soul whose light touched the hearts of all who knew her. Born on October 22, 2009 in Columbia, Missouri,

Kaylee's journey was a brief but profoundly meaningful one, ending on May 6, 2026, when she was tragically taken from us. Kayla was a beacon of joy, known for her ever-present smile and a hug ready for anyone in need of comfort. Her kindness was a constant, and her encouragement inspired those around her to be their best selves. Outgoing with a unique sense of humor, Kayla's personality was a vibrant tapestry of warmth and laughter that will be dearly missed. Her love for life was evident in the activities that she cherished. She attended Moberly High School where she she loved playing basketball and running track. Kayla's passion extended beyond sports.

She delighted in video games, enjoying moments spent playing roblox with her brother Joe. Active in her church's youth group, she found great joy in participating in church activities and working with children, embodying a nurturing spirit that resonated deeply with everyone she encountered. Her tender affection extended to animals

with whom she loved spending quiet, joyful hours. Family was at the core of Kayla's happiness. She cherished time with her sister Christina, finding companionship in laughter and shared secrets. Her special bond with cousin Zoe was filled with playful care and genuine affection. The warmth she shared with her brother Joe in their gaming adventures created memories that will forever be treasured. I mean, truly a beautiful way to remember her and a beautiful obituary,

highlighting her relationship with her siblings, who she was, the kind soul she was, church, helping friends, helping children, loving sports, being always wanting to hug people and be affectionate. Like, that's what you think of when you think of an innocent 16-year-old girl. Someone who is just innocent, pure, loves life, loves her friends, and just finds joy in the quiet, small activities. It doesn't anywhere say, you know, she loved social media, she loved posting, she loved TikTok, she was glued to her phone. She wanted to be an influence. It wasn't any of that. It was she loved being with her siblings, sharing secrets, playing games. She loved going to church. I mean, it just shows you who Kayla was

at her core, the type of innocence, the type of just gentleness about her. So over the weekend is when the Remembrance Vigal happened. And then on Monday, May 18th, prosecutors announced the arrest of a sixth suspect. This suspect, Skyler W. Powell. Skyler is 24 years old, and he was charged with a felony count of hindering prosecution of a felony. This was after he allegedly hid Elena in his basement after escaping custody or evading custody. Now, this is awful because it's like all of these friends and family members are connected and like seemingly helping one another with the crime, the cover up the planning, and I'm going to get to those details in just a moment, because that same day a court hearing was held and the details shared were absolutely horrific. The following information

was read in court, and it was taken directly from the probable cause affidavits. So within hours of Kayla being reported missing, investigators quickly determined that she had been targeted in a calculated plot involving multiple individuals, including her boyfriend. Investigators said that they conducted several interviews with Hunter, the 19-year-old friend, who allegedly admitted to aiding in the kidnapping and discarding of evidence. The document also notes that each time Hunter was interviewed, it was after police had received a tip about his involvement in Kayla's disappearance.

And when confronted, Hunter would reportedly provide further information that he had either lied or he had omitted in his previous interviews, getting scared, buckling under pressure, feeling backed into a corner, and so they would get tips, and then they would confront him, and he would start, you know, tripping over his story and admit to lying. Now let's talk about the murder itself, because this is really like the crux of the case and why so many people are outraged, demanding answers. The affidavit alleges that on May 5th, so the day before Kayla vanished, Hunter, and the other suspects intentionally took motor oil from the bed of an acquaintance's truck

and then poured that motor oil into the fuel tank of Kayla's car. This was done in an effort to make it stop working, which if you remember, her car was seen broken down on the side of the road. Mission accomplished. Surveillance footage and cell phone data allegedly placed the suspects near Kayla's residence at approximately 3 a.m. that morning. So they start planning on the day before she disappears. They grab motor oil from an acquaintances truck. They then sneak over to Kayla's house at 3 in the morning. They start dumping this motor oil into her gas tank, knowing that once she leaves in the morning to go wherever she needed to go, her car was going to break down and she was going to be stranded and, more than likely, call her boyfriend for help. Hunter also told investigators

that in the late morning hours of May 6th, the suspects woke him up and they started asking him for his pistol. They told him that they had someone in the trunk of a white Chevy Impala, and they needed his pistol to, quote, take care of it. He allegedly allowed them to take his pistol, and then they left in that same Chevy Impala. So this is, let me just kind of break down the timeline for you. I mentioned how they go there at 3 in the morning, pour the oil into the car, Kayla leaves that morning, and then her car breaks down. We know that she's seen on surveillance cameras walking away with her 17-year-old boyfriend,

and then at some point off camera, I think you can read between the lines, she's abducted and placed into the Chevy Impala, into the trunk, or maybe in the backseat, they tied her up. Who knows? They drive then over to Hunter's house and say, hey, we have someone in the back of the car, in the trunk of the vehicle, specifically. It was the trunk, sorry, not the back seat.

We have someone in the trunk of the vehicle, and we need to take care of them. Give us your gun. And he does. So then, Kayla was allegedly driven to the Rudolph Bennett Conservation Area, where the suspects reportedly dragged her from the trunk of the vehicle,

physically assaulted her, beat her with a tactical telescoping baton, which is one of those batons that's like condensed down and you pull it and it becomes long, almost like sometimes what they use in different law enforcement arenas, beat her with that severely, and then they shot her. 16 years old. Surveillance video from the east side of the Mason residents reportedly also corroborated Hunter's account of the group leaving

once they grabbed his pistol and then later returning in that same Chevy Impala. Following the search warrant, Hunter allegedly admitted to helping hide the weapons that were used in the attack, specifically the telescoping baton.

And he said that he had the help of another co-defendant and he hid these weapons on May 8th, so just a couple of days after the disappearance and murder. Now, this hearing, where all of this information, came to light, it was jam-packed. About 50 people sardined themselves into the courtroom to support

Kayla's family. And there were also several members of the Mason family present. As you can imagine, emotions were running extremely high. And according to the local news, one woman was so distraught during all of this that she actually confronted the sister, the 20-year-old sister Elena, during this hearing, yelling, tell the truth, tell the truth. And it got so heated. that she later had to be escorted out of the courtroom. Now, unfortunately, cameras are not allowed in the courtroom, so there's no footage of this that I can show you. But after hearing that, you know me, you know, I'm not a detective, but I am nosy.

And it sent me down the rabbit hole because I knew that I needed to know, like, what is the truth? Why is this person demanding, tell them the truth, tell them the truth. It kind of reminds me almost of that movie, if you've ever seen it, my sister's keeper, where it's a horrifically sad movie. Actually, don't watch it if you haven't seen it. But the brother stands up in the courtroom and he's like, just say the truth. Say what this is really about.

Where it's like, normally if you hear an outburst in a courtroom, it's something about like, you fucking asshole, you prick. Like, how could you do this to my daughter or something like that? Very rarely do you hear someone demanding tell the truth, tell the truth over and over again, so much so that they have to be escorted out. So that sent me down the rabbit hole. I was like, I need to know what this truth is. What are they talking about?

Because to be honest, after all of this, there still was not a publicly shared motive. However, there is a motive out there that is floating around that many people believe is the truth in all of this. And that the reason it has not been publicly shared is, again, because this is a case involving minors, also the sensitivity of it. But what I will say is this. And this is where we kind of get into, form your own opinions, do your own research. as I was looking on social media saying, okay, what are people sharing about this case? What are the theories? When this motive came up time and time again, there were people in the comment sections identifying themselves as family members or extended family members of Kayla's confirming it to be true.

Now, does that mean these are real people? Does it mean it could be a sock account? It could be a fraud who's looking for attention. It could be anything. I don't know. but I saw it in enough places that it gives, in my opinion, a little bit of, you know, legitimacy to the speculation. But again, it hasn't been publicly shared or confirmed yet, I believe, because of the sensitivity of it. So buckle up because this is where it gets very

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So as I said, a lot of people who know the Mason family are speaking out on social media. And I want to give you one last trigger warning because what's circulating out there about the potential motive is really, really dark. Also, keep in mind one more time. Just trying to protect myself, guys. I'm not trying to annoy you and, like, you know, be redundant all the time. But I just want to be say everything that I'm about to tell you is alleged and it has not been proven to be true. Just speculation. So this first potential motive, I came across this comment and it said,

Sadly, I was working with these people. This is a horrible situation with the worst outcome. The kids supposedly had a breakup and he went crying to his older sister. She then, quote, dealt with the problem. It's all just wild. Which, that's unnerving. Okay, yes, on the surface. Like, okay, so what, you, this 17-year-old kid says he and his 16-year-old girlfriend broke up to his older sister.

and she's like, I'll deal with it. Like, who's that? I can't believe she broke up with you or who knows if he broke up with her. But like, I'm going to go take care of this. Like, that would be kind of like, okay, take it easy. Like, relax a little bit. They're 16 and 17 years old. Breakups happen.

But that's not what the disturbing motive is. Because this is the one that is circulating the most. And I want to read this to you again because it is a direct post. Elena is the older half-siblings of Chris. the 17-year-old boyfriend of Kayla. Kayla caught the two siblings sleeping together. So they made a plan to silence her and put oil in her gas tank. Then they kidnapped her and killed her.

Christopher Hull and Hunter Ames helped her, meaning Elena, with the gun belonging to Hunter. I worked with Hunter. I worked with Chris and Elena last year too. Investigators need to talk to Megan Elizabeth, because she is Christopher's wife and she lives with all of them in the same house. She was also Elena's best friend.

So Chris and Elena killed Kayla Huff because they got caught having sex with each other. Which this is where it kind of gets even more diabolical because we know that this whole group is closely connected either through familial connections or friendships. But it sounds and it seems, I should say, like the majority of them also lived together. So what Kayla at 16 years old catches her boyfriend having sex with his sister, half sister, but still sister, not step, half, catches him having sex with her sister, breaks up with him, threatens to tell people.

And so because of that, the boyfriend and the sister scheme and plot together to silence her maybe out of embarrassment because they don't want this secret being shared, which, I could wrap my head around that, not justifying it, obviously, but I could see where the fear kicks in and they feel like, oh my God, we have to get rid of her. But then to loop in everyone else living in that house, all of your friends, your other step-sibling, all of these people, and to help you without any fear that they would throw you under the bus and go to the cops, and instead all of these people being like, yeah, sure, yeah, we're in, here's my weapon.

Yeah, I'll dispose of evidence. Yeah, you want me to drive the car? yeah, want me to go steal the oil and put it in her gas tank? What should the plan be? Like, we talk a lot about, and I know I butcher this expression every single time, I'm so sorry, but like Folly do or Folly do or whatever it is, where it's like two people come together and it's like insanity and diabolical and they like, you know, it's like what's his face? Harley Quinn and the Joker. And so we talk about that with true crime cases, like the Skyler-Neice case, for example, the teenage girl who was targeted by her two friends, classmates, the two friends,

the two friends met each other and like plotted to murder, Skyler. Where it's like, how rare is it that someone befriends another person? And then the both of you have these shared fantasies and dark, deep desires. Like, what's the likelihood of meeting another person like that and then carrying it out? But in this case, six different people sharing, not the darkness necessarily, because it's not like they all just like plan to murder from day one when they got out of the womb, but willing to go along with it. Like ride or drive friends.

It's so crazy to me. If I had a friend or a family member come up to me tomorrow and be like, I got caught doing something and I really need your help. I'm going to kill this person. And I need your help planning it, covering it up, disposing of it. Like, I want you to drive there with me, participate in the beating. We're going to shoot her. Let's go.

Get in the car. I'd be like, are you in your goddamn mind? Like, what are you talking about? And then I would either go to that person and tell them like, look, my friend is planning to come after you. Go to the police, file a restraining word. Or I'd go directly to the police. So it kind of also, I guess, reminds me. I know I keep making drawbacks to move or callbacks to movies.

But it kind of reminds me of, what's that movie? What is that movie with Ben Affleck and the horrible Blake lively acting? The town. The town. Where he like goes in and he tells his friend like, I'm not going to tell you any more details, but like we're going to crack some. skulls, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and he's all, are you driving or me? Where it's like it's this blind loyalty. But to get six people on board with that blind loyalty, especially when it's not like

Kayla wronged anyone, it's not like she did anything. It's not like she hurt someone. She just caught, allegedly, her boyfriend having sex with his sister. Like, she's not in the wrong. You're in the wrong, you freak, you know? Like, what are you even talking about? So, which maybe they didn't tell the friends the whole truth. Maybe they said they were getting back at Kayla because she broke Chris's heart.

And they were like, yeah, we love Chris. Like, fuck her, fuck that bitch. Like, maybe. And maybe now, if they're learning, again, if this motive is in fact the truth, if they're learning that, maybe they're like, holy shit. Like, wow, we really read the room wrong. But disturbing, right? Now, remember how I had mentioned early on in the episode that Elena, after being arrested,

was complaining while she was in jail that she had a rash and it was from poison ivy. Well, sure enough, after her arrest, and I'm going to say, say this exactly how it is in all of the documents. She reportedly did develop a poison ivy rash, and she told the jail staff that she, quote, got it from being in the woods, which obviously the investigators noted this was incredibly significant because the crime scene was a densely wooded area, which we love when people tell on themselves. She already told on herself when she was reprimanded for the second, is that the word I'm looking for? I don't even know. When she was taken into Cussie, the second time we know that she told on herself and said that she stole the cop car, which is like,

girl, I know it's obvious, but like, at least play dumb. Like, why are you telling on yourself? And then now being like, yeah, I have like, this rash. It really hurts. It's from poison ivy. I was in the woods. It's like, we love when criminals are this dumb. Like, you think you're smart enough to carry out a calculated murder plot and a cover up, but you're telling on yourself without even like realizing it. Idiot. But love to see it. Now, I told you how I mentioned in one of these comments when they were talking about that potential incest motive, how they said, investigators need to talk to Megan Elizabeth because she's Christopher's wife. She lives with all of them in the same house and she's also Elena's best friend. Well, Megan Elizabeth, she hasn't been arrested at this point or at the time of this recording. And I don't believe at this point it's been publicly confirmed if she has any sort of knowledge of anything. But she has. she apparently posted a GoFundMe so that she could bond out her cousin, or her, I can't talk,

so that she could bond out her husband, Christopher Hull. But as you can imagine, she was met with a lot of backlash, so much so that she deactivated her Facebook. Now, I think it might go a little bit deeper than that, because the probable cause affidavit, it did mention another female in the residents. And people also say that there is no way that she didn't know what was going on inside that house. She was Elena's best friend, the one who arguably orchestrated this entire thing. Prosecutors also have said that they do believe that more people could be involved and that the investigation is still active and still ongoing. So they're encouraging anybody to come forward with any information. And it's not uncommon for law enforcement to preserve social media accounts with a

search warrant during an active investigation. So could that be why things have been deactivated? Could that be why things are kind of like difficult to find? I don't know, possibly. But what we do know is at the time of this recording, in total, there are six people already in custody in connection to Kayla's murder. Now let's go through how they were all connected because I know that they were, I said that they lived together. Some of them were friends. But authorities do believe that they were all part of the broader social circle that was going on in Moberly, Missouri, that they had overlap between local friendships, social circles, romantic relationships, and like overlapping hangouts within the area. And they believe that they all knew each other personally before Kayla disappeared.

And again, as I had mentioned, some people say that they all lived in that same house together. So investigators allege that Elena Mason, the half-sister 20 years old, that she orchestrated. much of the crime, that Hunter Ames provided the gun, that Christopher Hull helped sabotage Kayla's car and then dispose of evidence after the murder, that Julian Mason allegedly assisted after the fact, which this was that allegation of him helping hide Kayla in the basement. Then Chris Woods, the 17-year-old boyfriend, they alleged that he had some level of involvement, but the exact level and scheming and colluding, it's still unclear publicly because he is a minor. But I think that we can all kind of, you know, understand if this motive is true, what his involvement would be. Also, I would imagine that he did,

I would imagine that he did, sorry, I'm losing my train of thought. I'm like trying to like multitask. I would imagine that he obviously did have a level of involvement considering Kayla's car was abandoned and broke down on the side of the road. and then he was the one seen on footage with her, luring her to whatever the destination was that she was abducted,

which is where the kidnapping charges are coming into play. So I'm sure he helped facilitate. So Elena is currently being held without bail or bond, and the other five defendants will not appear in court until June 1, 2026, which I will certainly give you an update as soon as we know more in this case, if more arrests are made. Like I said, these have all kind of happened just within the last week, back to back. And they do, as the investigator said, they do believe that there more people could be

involved. And they said the investigation is still active and ongoing. So who knows if there will be more arrests? Maybe at the time this episode being published, we will learn that the wife is arrested or that somebody else. I mean, it's just such a heartbreaking case because, and I want you to just put yourself in Kayla's family's shoes for a moment here. This beautiful 16, year old little girl who had a boyfriend, was living life, loved family, loved activities, then is so deliberately betrayed and sabotaged with motor oil put in her car in the middle of the night to where, imagine that too, when she's driving down the road the next day and her car starts making the noise, thudding, stopping, stalling, and she's panicking.

At 16 years old, they're like, oh my God, I don't want somebody to hit me, I need to pull over what's going on with my car, what's happening. Then being like, oh my God, like I'm stranded. Let me call my boyfriend like, hey, Chris, can you come pick me up? Can you come help me? Like, I don't know what happened in my car. I, like, panicked. Or like being like, this is so annoying.

I wonder how much it's going to be to repair. Like, I'm scared to tell my parents maybe. Who knows? Then your boyfriend, who you maybe think is your knight in shining armor, who knows, comes to help you. You start walking off with him only to then, what, walk into a trap? A trap and get abducted into a car. and then driven to this like deeply forested area where you're terrified because it's like

multiple people on one, you're getting beat with this baton and then shot and just left for dead? Imagine Kayla's family trying to reconcile that in their brain. How you can go from one thing, from one morning that's so normal she was talking with her sister. Fast forward to where everything just changed in an instant. And for what? because allegedly two freaks decided to have sex with each other, which is disgusting and they shouldn't have done that. And they got so pissed off that they got caught and weren't careful enough that they had to go attack the 16-year-old girl. I don't know. It infuriates me. But like I said, that's why I wanted to jump on here today and share everything we know. Kayla Huff deserves justice. Her family deserves justice. And they deserve answers. So as more information comes out, I will let you know.

I imagine not only will we get updates as this case continues, but I imagine things will also start dripping through and not be as concealed, even though there are minors involved, because that's usually how it works. It's like you get little drops of information as it goes. So I will certainly keep you updated. But in the meantime, please keep Kayla's family and actual friends, her real friends, in your thoughts and prayers. And just let's hope that these monsters face the accountability that they, you know, accountability

that they have accountability, they have remorse, and they share the truth, they can give her family some sort of peace and, like, throw the book at them. Throw the book at them. Because to be capable of such barbaric actions at such young ages, who's to say what you're, you know, what you're going to be capable of in the future as you grow into adulthood, as you get smarter, as you get more calculated, right? So I know. I know I'm kind of going off on a tangent here. I apologize. But thank you for listening to Kayla's story today. Let me know if you've heard about this case too and what you've heard. And if you are a family member or a friend and you want to share a memory of Kayla or what you know about this case, something that won't jeopardize the case,

of course, but feel free to reach out. We would love to chat with you. And you can reach me directly through the email in the show notes below or, of course, on social media. But my thoughts and prayers are with you if you are watching or listening. All right, guys, thank you so much. And until the next one, be nice, don't kill people, and don't plot and scheme. And if you ever hear of someone wanting to do something to somebody else and they enlist you to help, go to the police.