WACO, Texas — The Waco Police Department announced Friday that they believe a body found that same day belongs to a missing 59-year-old man.
According to Waco PD, the body was identified by people they suspect to be involved in the case as Stanley Wilcox, who was reported missing on Dec. 29, 2022.
Waco PD said that 18-year-old James Keylan Willis and 19-year-old Brandon Xavier Stephens were arrested and charged with Wilcox's murder and tampering with evidence.
A 17-year-old was also arrested and charged with failure to report a felony, said Waco PD. Because the 17-year-old is a minor and wasn't charged as an adult, 6 News is not releasing his name.
After Wilcox was reported missing, detectives searched his vehicle, where they say a large amount of blood was cleaned up from the trunk area.
Waco police interviewed Willis, Stephens and the teen during which Willis and Stephens reportedly admitted to being present for the shooting of Wilcox and to disposing of his body, said the department. They said the teen knew about the murder but was not at the scene and was not involved in disposing the body.
Waco PD said Willis provided them the location of Wilcox's body on Jan. 6, 2023. Wilcox's body was recovered under a bridge near the 1100 block of S. 9th Street in Waco later that same day.
The Waco Police Department stated that while they believe Wilcox was killed in 2022, they are considering this to be the first murder investigation of 2023.
More local stories from 6 News:
