DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A Fort Payne woman accused of “intentionally” pushing another woman off a cliff has requested to view the scenes related to the crime, according to court documents.
43-year-old Loretta Kay Carr was arrested on June 25, 2023, and charged with Mary Elizabeth Isbell’s kidnapping and murder. Isbell had been reported missing by the Hartselle Police Department and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office in January 2022, saying she had family in Hartselle, but was last known to live in DeKalb County.
According to a criminal complaint, Carr is accused of kidnapping Isbell in October 2021 and “intentionally” causing her death “by pushing her off of a cliff.”
Now, Carr is requesting she be allowed to revisit the crime scenes with her attorneys and Judge Andrew Hairston has set a hearing to discuss the matter. In the motion, her attorneys are asking that Carr be allowed to visit Wolf Creek, Carr’s fiancé’s house, and Isbell’s mobile home.
“The facts of this case make it impossible for Loretta Kay Carr to describe the scene to her attorneys in sufficient detail to enable counsel to adequately investigate the scenes of the alleged crime without her presence,” her attorneys explained.
Carr has requested to be able to view these scenes within 30 days of the order being granted. A status conference regarding the motion to allow her to visit the scene has been set for August 31.
Jessie Eden Kelly, Carr’s 22-year-old daughter, is also charged with kidnapping and killing Isbell and is in the Cherokee County Jail after being extradited from Pennsylvania. She was also facing prior felony burglary charges in Missouri.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office’s (DCSO) Chief Investigator Nick Brown described what the women did to Isbell as “inhuman and brutal.”
While it is unclear whether Carr or Kelly cooperated with authorities, the DCSO did say that one of them helped lead authorities to Isbell’s remains, where a search team found them at the Little River Canyon National Park on June 28.
The Alabama Department of Forensic Science’s Huntsville Laboratory later confirmed the remains as Isbell’s – on what would have been her 39th birthday.
In early July, a judge granted a motion for a gag order that prevents witnesses, law enforcement, court employees, prosecutors and basically anyone involved in the case from sharing any details with media and a motion denying cameras during the proceedings.
Carr’s defense team also wants to use the body cam footage from officers involving a search of her home, footage from their interactions with her daughter, and footage including Carr’s fiancé.
The state is seeking the death penalty against Carr.
