True Crime with Kimbyr - Mom Disappears Before Halloween: The Heartbreaking Case of Lauren Kidd: Part 3

Episode Date: April 21, 2025

The truth behind Lauren Kidd’s disappearance is finally revealed in the dramatic conclusion of True Crime with Kimbyr’s deep dive into this tragic case. As the investigation reaches its peak, the shocking details of what really happened on that fateful Halloween night come to light. Family, friends, and investigators struggle to make sense of the tragedy, but justice is finally served. Kimbyrleigha wraps up the story, reflecting on the impact this case has had on Lauren’s loved ones. Don’t miss the final, heart-wrenching chapter of this haunting mystery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the investigators get samples of both Joe and Krista's DNA to create a profile that they could test against the samples they got from Connor's vehicle, and you could have guessed it, it came back to matching to Lauren. With this much blood lost, it was very unlikely that Lauren survived whatever happened in that car. So they confront Connor with all this information, and he must have known that his story about Lauren leaving his car alive was no longer. to be believable. So what did he do? He changes his story yet again. He says that Lauren had asked him to drop her off to get drugs. And when she got back in the car, she said she needed help and that he needed to take her to another location. And nothing's making sense in the story at this point, by the way. So if it's sounding kind of all over the place, it is. Because Connor is being caught in lies. The next one being that they weren't alone in this car. No. There were two drug

dealers with them in his car in the back seats. Lauren was buying drugs from them, and something went wrong, and she began to yell at them. The police were not buying this new story that Connor was trying to sell them. But like with most lies, there might be some truth to this story, so they needed to take a closer look. Many times, when a suspect is trying to get away with the crime, they confess to smaller crimes, and they offer little breadcrumbs of truth, which they conceal within their stories. And it quickly became clear that that's exactly what Connor was doing.

They asked him, well, what happened next? Did these men hurt Lauren? And Connor was like, yeah. One of them pulled out a gun and they pointed at Lauren's head and they shot her. Wow. And he goes on to say that this drug dealer, he was going to shoot Connor too, but instead he goes, no. He tells Connor to drive so that they could get rid of Lauren's body. And where might that have been?

Well, he mentions an address to investigators and they had heard it before, 51st Street and Aspen. Conveniently, that's a straight shot from where Connor works on Aspen Avenue. This is the same place where his GPS had him sitting idle for at least 10 minutes around 6 p.m. on October 27th. And here's the most chilling part,

and oh my God, this makes my skin cross. The investigators ask, where can we find Lauren? And Connor just says, behind the come and go store. This one right here. So they press him further and they ask, where is she? He literally says the trash can. And he says it so casually like he's talking about throwing away some garbage. The trash can is unbelievable and it gets worse.

It gets much worse. The investigators, they're trying to get clarification. They're like, do you mean a dumpster? And Connor's like, yeah, investigators want to know why. Why would she be put in there? And Connor the coward, he claims that's just where they put her. We all know they is really just him. He's an absolute monster.

But is it true? It's been days since October 27th. It's around November 4th at the time when investigators are getting this confession from Connor. Trash is picked up regularly, especially from places like gas stations, convenience stores, and they fear that if this is true, then Lauren could be long gone. This is one of the worst parts of this story. They rush over there to the come and go, and this is a picture from the front of that store. And when they go around back, they don't find a trash dumpster.

It's worse. It's a cardboard-only recycling bin. Now, if you've never seen one of these, they're actually behind a lot of lot of stores that receive a bunch of inventory that come in boxes, and then those boxes are broken down regularly, and they're deposited inside there so that they could be recycled and repurposed, made into new items to be used again. If you think that trash disposal is a horrific thing to think about when it comes to a person being disposed of and lost in a pile of rotting garbage, I hate to tell you that the process of recycling cardboard like this is even more horrific,

we're talking about a person being processed and not just cardboard. These bins for one, you can see the way they're designed, they have this smaller opening in the front where cardboard boxes are meant to be inserted after they're broken down and slip through. However, there's a locked opening portion on top and that comes open once the recycling truck picks it up and dumps its contents inside their truck. But on the side, There's a door. And it opens for bigger items, like a body in this case. It wouldn't have been hard for Connor to open that side door

and throw Lauren inside. And sure enough, they find blood on the outside of that bin and they locate this bracelet in front of it, which is identified as belonging to Lauren. Now they know that they've uncovered a small piece of truth in Connor's labyrinth of lies. They quickly open this recepts this receptacle and they're hoping that they're going to find Lauren inside. But it's too late.

It's already been emptied since October 27th. However, they do find blood inside and it matches to Lauren's DNA. But where is she? This is devastating news, all of it, that Lauren's dead, that her body is missing and that it may never be found. And now they have to relay this information to her family. Can you even imagine? When Krista and Joe found out, Krista said that their worst fears were confirmed. They broke down. Her mom said she didn't get a chance to tell her goodbye. She didn't get a chance to say she loved her.

She didn't get a chance to give her a hug because she didn't know that that was going to be the last time that she would see her. And I feel that pain for her. It's so heartbreaking. And investigators didn't believe Connor's story. They didn't think drug dealers did this, but that was the information that they had in that moment, and that is what they relayed to Lauren's family.

But then, Crystal, let it be known that when they heard that Connor was the last person that was with Lauren, they knew this was probably not going to end well. That Connor was dangerous, and that he and Lauren had domestic calls with police several times. She knew he was bad news, and she just couldn't.

couldn't believe this was real, that she would never see her daughter alive again. She said that all the things that she had talked about with Lauren, everything she wanted to do in her life, would never happen. And when Joe heard, he got up from the table and he just hit the wall and he fell apart, he was in tears, and he just lost it. His only daughter, his little princess, she was never coming back. And he said that Lauren was a wonderful person, that she had a full life ahead. of her. She didn't deserve this. When the news got to Lauren's ex-husband, Zach, the father of their

daughter, he said he was devastated. He said, I kept telling her that he was not a good guy, that she could do so much better. It's just too bad that Lauren couldn't get far enough away from this man. By November 5th, investigators were trying to get Connor to confess that he was the one who killed Lauren and to stop placing blame elsewhere. So they questioned him about why he wasn't shot. And he told them that they'd have to find the drug dealers and ask them. But investigators were like, how are we going to find a fictitious person? And Connor kept up the ruse saying they're not fake and he's not lying. When they asked to give them the drug dealer's numbers, he can't. He expects them to believe that these two unknown men got in the car and that he's never once exchanged a text

or a call with either one of them. And neither had Lauren. But the investigators finally broke him down. They told him they think what really happened was that something went on between Lauren and Connor in that car and that it escalated into Connor killing Lauren. And he finally admits that they're right. But still, his version is more tame. It's more tame than probably what the truth is. He keeps telling them that Lauren wouldn't get out of his car and that he just happened to have a gun with him. And he held it up and he told her, get out.

And that's when, according to him, the clip fell out. And then the gun, well, it just went off. And there was ringing in his ears and afterward he looks and he sees that Lauren has been shot in the face. How brutal. Because we know that this wasn't an accident. We know that he purposely aimed that gun at her beautiful face. And he looked at her and he pulled the trigger.

killing a girl that he once said that he loved and he cared about and connected with. But at least he admitted that it was him who pulled that trigger. The 22-year-old was arrested and sent to Tulsa County Jail, and he was charged with first-degree murder and desecration of a human corpse. They believed that Connor came to Mike's with a purpose that day, one that included a gun and getting Lauren alone so that he could end her life. But their focus right now was finding Lauren's body, and this search was intense. They had to track down the route that the recyclable items go down after they've been picked up from that receptacle.

And it turns out that they're sent to a paper mill. Back on November 3rd, when they found Lauren's blood in that bin, the Broken Arrow Police Department sent 30 investigators to a paper mill in McCurtain County and Valleant, Oklahoma, where the recycling materials are processed. This facility is 200 miles away. It's a three-hour drive. This is what it looked like back in 1975 when it was called the Wayhouser Paper Mill.

But in 2008, it was sold for $6 billion to International Paper Company, along with nine other container board mills around the country. This is a massive operation. They have 72 packaging locations and 19 recycling facilities in 16 states. All this is to say, finding Lauren's body or what was left of it was going to be nearly impossible.

This process is a very brutal one. Once picked up from that bin, the remnants of cardboard are dumped in a large pile and then they're picked up by a front loader. This is actually a very big machine with a large bucket, so it would be very easy not to see a small person's lifeless body inside. Once full, the materials are then dumped into what's called an in-feed bunker. It looks just like this. The items are fed along a conveyor belt while being

misted with water to prevent dust and other particles from getting into the air. Then it moves along and the items are dropped into a very powerful, sharp, metal rotating drum area where it is ripped apart and broken down further into smaller pieces. And I am so sorry to do this, but as you're probably aware Lauren was moving along this process. And that reality was sinking in for the investigators. And for me, every time I think about this, I'm sorry I get emotional, but I'm going to pull it together. As this search was going on, they were becoming aware of how this whole operation takes place and how it plays out. Once these items pass through this area, they're picked up by a claw machine and they're put through a rotating trammal. It looks like this, and it separates different size items, which are then sent to different areas,

and sprayed with a powerful stream of hot water. And then they go through a blower, which separates lighter materials from heavier ones, and then they're pressed through this belt system, where they go through other sorting and breaking down processes until all of this is compressed firmly into bales of cardboard. to be sent to other facilities and made into new products. Products like paper or cardboard boxes and similar materials, which is another very extensive process.

These bales are often sold to many other companies so that they can make items themselves or they're processed right there at the international paper company. And all of this is an automated process. It happens every day, all day long, every hour. And sadly, Lauren's remains went through this process. And investigators combed through acres of material, but there was no sign of Lauren or anything resembling her.

This is what those bales look like. This is an actual police photo. They're huge. And it is devastating to think about Lauren going through all of that and now being lost somewhere. It's seriously the scariest part of this case to think about all of that. And it's unbelievable. Because once those bales are sold off, they go into a place, that looks like this and they come out looking like this.

A huge two-ton roll of paper. And then this gets turned into tissue boxes, cereal boxes, laundry detergent or fabric sheet boxes, and even mac and cheese boxes. I'm sure you can see where my mind went with this. This monster threw her way like trash, and this process didn't stop once it started. So at this point, the broken arrow

Police Department calls in the Oklahoma City Metro Search and Rescue Team, and they bring in cadaver dogs, ones that can smell decomposition. They went to the plant and they started outside here. They didn't indicate in any of these areas of debris, so they moved the dogs inside the facility. And as the dogs made their way to the bales, they still were not alerting. So they took them to the processing area that I showed you. This is a 20-acre mill. It's the largest in the world. These dogs were taken to the belts and the machines and the claws, and that is where they began indicating that they found their scent. They found Lauren scent, decomposing human remains. She had been there. She had gone through the process, and now she was already gone. Now the crime scene technicians are combing through

these areas, and ultimately, they found rentals. of what they believed to be human bone fragments and skin. And when they were tested, the pieces came back belonging to Lauren. The DNA was a match. The reality was that Lauren had sadly been processed to this recycling facility and continued. And who knows where she ended up. But when I mentioned the items that are made from these recycled materials, just use your imagination and become as shocked as I was that this case was not talked about, like some of the other

cases that get so much press. A post was updated on the search and rescue team's Facebook where they sadly announced that Lauren was found deceased. And interestingly out of the over 300 comments, one was from someone that knew Connor. His name is Ronnie Sanders and apparently he's the father of a friend of Connors. He knew Connor when he was younger and he said this and I wanted to share it because I thought it was important and I know you will give me your thoughts in the the comments because you always do. It said, quote, please don't get my comment twisted. As first, I want to send my condolences to the family and friends of the girl. It is sad that they

must now endure the loss that will forever change their lives. I hate that this happened. I especially hate it because Connor was at a younger age, always welcome at her house, as he was one of my son's best friends at their pre-driving age 14 or so. He moved from Sepulipa to Broken Arrow and my son and Connor lost the availability to communicate as much as they once did. However, because unlike many of you who probably never knew him, I, however, did. I can't tell you what or where it went wrong, and I in no way feel he is in any way justified by what he has done. I will, however, say that the Connor I knew wasn't a monster.

He wasn't a person that I felt could ever do something even close to this. He instead was a normal child. I don't believe in any way that he planned this. I instead feel it was most likely something that escalated to a point of no return. And when it was over, he then thought to himself, what have I done? It's a sad fact that although the loss on the girls part is greater and the family lost their loved one, the truth is that two lives are lost today. Two families are forever changed and normalcy will forever be different for both families.

We all should remember and remind our loved ones that it only takes a second to access make a mistake that ends up a permanent one. Remind our children to walk away and call someone for advice before they do something that they will forever regret. I pray both families are able to somehow return to some form of normalcy in time. My prayers are with all families and friends." And as much as I believe this man was trying to help, as you can imagine, this comment didn't go over very well. There were a lot of angry responses. For example, one person said,

all sympathy is for the murder of this young woman and her family. He made a choice. Don't try and nice him out now. But others agreed it was well written, and yes, it's true. Two families will be grieving. Well, more than that, actually, with all the lives the Lauren had touched. But there were a lot of assumptions in that post that I just read from this guy. And I don't know if I'm okay with that.

He said that it was an accident. something that Connor didn't plan, and something he regretted. Well, that man wasn't there. And as the investigation went deeper and this case was being built against Connor, more of the truth came out. And I'm going to get to that because I want to tell you what happened at the trial and how it all played out. But first, a message from Lauren's mom when she was interviewed days after the news came out about what happened to her daughter.

I'm going to play you some news clips, but I want you to kind of understand that she was trying to say if anyone is in this situation and you've got all your friends telling you that this person is bad news listen to them because it's just a matter of walking away those are chrisa's thoughts here's the clip of that interview with chrissa that she did she was so looking forward to trick-or-treating with her that was what she was going to do that night we knew that if conner was the last person that she was with that it was probably not going to end up very good i don't want life to be easy for him at all they've had domestic calls with the police department several times.

And we knew we tried to get her to quit from hanging out with them and just let him go. I just want to say that if anybody is in a situation like that to get out, if you've got every one of your friends telling you that this person is bad news, listen to them. Listen to them because it was a matter of, you know, walking away. And it's true if you're in a bad relationship, you should try to get out, but it's actually the most dangerous time in domestic situations, it's not easy. I'm gonna leave resources below because there are people who can help you

or someone you know. Now, Krista was left collecting every picture that she could find of poor Lauren so that she could remember her the way that she was, the smiling, happy, beautiful little girl that she loves so much. She was trying to find any video or pictures that she could hunt down so she could cherish those memories.

Here's one of Lauren singing in a competition, She had a beautiful voice. And, of course, her and little Addie. And then three months after her death, Krista also showed the media Lauren's old bedroom, where she grew up. Here it is now the way her parents left it when she moved out. The pink drapes, the piggy bank, her stuffed animals,

her zebra patterned bedspread, as well as a teddy bear that Krista said Lauren carried everywhere because it was her favorite when she was a little girl. And it's sad, at all this. It was a Lauren's favorite. She's carried this with her everywhere. She went.

And Krista had transformed this place into a place for Lauren's daughter where Addison could find comfort now that her mom was gone. She had pulled out all of Lauren's old toys so she could just surround little Addison with things that would remind her of her mommy. Krista, like me, was thinking a lot about her daughter going through that paper mill. Here's what she had to say about it. It's a horrible, visual thought in your mind that your daughter would be in that place. Another thing that Krista let the media know is that after Lauren's DNA was discovered at that mill,

the company decided to recall more than 30,000 tons of bundles to try to prevent Lauren's remains from being processed any further and that the family was so very thankful for that effort. We won't ever know what happened. But Krista's wish at this point was that they could find Lauren's body, so she could finally say goodbye. But that that wasn't going to happen. But Krista said that Lauren's legacy will live on

because she leaves behind her three-year-old daughter who looks exactly like her, and she really does. Her ex-husband, Zach, also expressed his deep sadness and concern regarding her murder. In an interview on the news, Zach said, that Addie missed Lauren so much, that she loved her mama, and he just cannot believe that Connor took her away from her. Lauren's aunt posted this picture on Facebook

is a picture of Lauren twirling around happily in her wedding dress, and one of her and her papa, and it said, quote, this beauty is safe in her papa's arms now. She loved her papa, and he loved her, end quote. Lauren's dad said to the media that it's true, she may have never been found at all if Connor hadn't confessed. She would have been long gone and no clues would have been left behind. He also said that this being an accident was very unlikely,

considering that Connor had a gun and Lauren did not. That makes sense. Losing someone is never easy, but when someone as young as Lauren is murdered, it hurts much more. Because it's not just her early presence that's taken away. Her future is gone. It's the death of her. of all of the things she ever wanted to do,

all the Christmases, the Halloweens, the birthdays, the death of any love she might have found one day with someone who truly loved her, any children she might have had, places that she wouldn't have seen, none of that will happen. But life goes on for everyone left behind. But for Lauren, her journey on Earth was forever paused, right when it felt like it had just begun.

Ultimately, during a search of Connor's apartment, they were able to locate a gun in the trash can. and police were able to piece together what they think actually happened that day. The truth is usually far simpler than the lies. They believe that Connor went to mics with the intention to convince Lauren to take a drive with him. And they ended up at an apartment complex parking lot

where ultimately Connor pulled out a gun and shot Lauren. And after Connor brutally murdered a woman that he once claimed to love, he disposed of her and then went on about his day as though nothing happened. Not only did he go to work, only nine minutes away from where he just dumped her body. But while he was there, he thought it was a good idea to clean up that crime scene. So who better to help than his ex-girlfriend Alex, a girl he broke up with before ultimately dating the girl he just killed. But what they didn't know was why. That motive would come out at trial, which commenced in January of 2020, just a month

before Lauren's family was finally ready to hold a memorial for her a year after her murder. It was a celebration of life. It was held on December 5th, 2019, which would have been Lauren's 23rd birthday. It was held at the Rose Chapel at Floral Haven Funeral Home and Broken Arrow. Family, friends, and loved ones gathered to honor Lauren's life and her memory. The family said that they needed to hold a memorial ceremony not only for themselves, but But for Addison, they said that even though Addison was only four, she could understand that something really bad happened to her mama. Lauren's father said, quote, I waited because I wanted to. But the fact is, we all need some type of closure.

And her daughter needs it more than anyone to move on. End quote. Joe loved his daughter more than anything. All he wanted was for her to be happy and have a good life. but an evil man came into her life and took all of that away. Joe finds solace in the memories he shared with his daughter despite all of his heartache. Those memories are what keeps him going. Joe affectionately referred to Lauren as his la-la.

It was a nickname that he had given her, and that just broke my heart when I heard him say it. Lauren's mom wants Addison to know that her mommy tried to be the mom that she deserved. It wasn't Lauren's or Addison's fault that they were separated and that Lauren was taken away. And by January 2020, the jury was ready. There were six men and eight women. Connor, of course, pleaded not guilty.

Despite all the evidence that was sacked against him, he truly believed that he was going to get away with murder, or at the very least, he was going to get a lesser charge. He believed in his innocence so much that he allowed Lauren's family to be re-victimized, having to sit through this entire murder trial where they had to hear every brutal and painful little detail about Lauren's final moments

and her desecrated remains. The story that the defense tried to paint was that the gun had accidentally gone off, that Connor wasn't responsible and that Connor never meant for any of this to happen. He never accepted any accountability for this crime. But the prosecution wasted no time calling their witnesses to the sand, including Conner's ex-girlfriend Alex.

The trial was, It was painful, it was emotional, it was draining for everyone involved. However, despite all of Lauren's family's anguish, they knew how important it was to hold Connor accountable for his actions. And as this trial progressed, the state presented very compelling evidence, and it cast a doubt on Conner's claims that this was a terrible accident. You know why? Because Connor was involved in a secret relationship with another woman while he was with Lauren.

And after sifting through everything that was left on Connor's phone, they found messages in the days leading up to Lauren's murder, just days before. And these messages revealed everything about this new woman that he was dating at the same time that he was on and off with Lauren. Apparently Lauren didn't know about this other girl, but this new girlfriend knew all about Lauren and she didn't like her. So you know what she did? She broke up with Connor when she found out that he had been hanging out with Lauren.

Detectives also found text messages that Connor sent to his ex-Alex. And in them, he talks about how Lauren just won't leave him alone. In one of these text messages sent by Connor to Alex, he makes a derogatory remark about Lauren and he refers to her as a parasite. He was expressing his frustration, saying that Lauren ruined his life because he wanted to be with another woman and Lauren just wouldn't stop. She wasn't willing to let him go. So Lauren was standing in the way.

And from an investigative perspective, this offered insight into what Connor's state of mind might have been like on the day he killed her. They theorized that Connor wanted Lauren gone, even if it meant that he had to do it himself and kill her. Anything to be with this new girlfriend and dumped the old out like garbage, and that's exactly what he did. He threw out Lauren's body like trash, as if she didn't matter any more than the days old newspaper and soggy cardboard. that lay around her. But she did matter. She mattered to her brothers, that she always fiercely protected.

She mattered to her mother who loved her since the day that she was growing in her womb. She mattered to her father, who had been her first love. And she mattered to her daughter, who will never truly know her mother. All of their lives were changed, the moment that Connor decided to pull that trigger. And though the defense pressed forward,

claiming this was all an accident, the jury had their verdict. Guilty, a first-degree murder. Next was the sentencing, and that happened a few months later in March. The 23-year-old Connor Brunner was given a life sentence in prison with the possibility of parole after at least 38 years and three months. Wow. Should have been no parole according to me, but who am I? It is what it is.

He's currently serving his life sentence at North Fork Correctional Center in Beckham County, Oklahoma. And after the sentencing, Lauren's mom said, she said, quote, there won't be any closure. We don't have a body to bury, and we don't really have a memorial. There is not that grave site per se that you can have, so we have to create one of our own. End quote. What's probably the most frustrating and heartbreaking thing about this case is how unnecessary this all was. Lauren did not have to die.

Connor could have just walked out of her life and not harmed her other than just leaving her with a broken heart. But unfortunately, this person. Despite how tragically unnecessary this crime was, it's not that unique. So many lives are lost at the hands of people who claim to love them. And I can only hope that Lauren's story will reach someone who needs to hear it. If you are that person and you're in a relationship that's placing you at risk, please reach out for help. Leaving a toxic and abusive relationship is not easy. You can't just walk out the door.

I understand that. But there are people out there to help. You don't have to live like this and more importantly, you can save yourself and you do not have to die like this. As for Addison and the rest of Lawrence family, all we can ask for is that they can find some peace. A loss like this is never fully grieved, there's never fully closure, and you never truly heal. But I do hope that they can find peace and purpose in the midst of their heartache. Just last year in 2022, her family and friends, they went to the Water Lantern Festival and they let these beautiful lanterns up. the water with pictures of Lauren and quotes and memories written on them and it was just so

beautiful just like Lauren herself. A beautiful soul that was gone way too soon. Let's please remember her story. I'm so sorry to her family and to her daughter. And I thank all of you for being here today and listening to Lauren's story. I will see you in my next video. Bye.