WACO, Texas — The mugshots of two suspects believed to be involved in Waco's first murder investigation of 2023 were released on Saturday.
On Friday, the Waco Police Department arrested 18-year-old James Keylan Willis and 19-year-old Brandon Xavier Stephens for their alleged role in 59-year-old Stanley Wilcox's murder.
A 17-year-old was also charged in this case, but for failure to report a felony, Waco PD said. The teen reportedly knew about the murder, but was not present when it happened and was not involved with disposing the body, police said.
Because the teen wasn't charged as an adult, 6 News is not identifying him due to him being a minor.
Wilcox was reported missing Dec. 29, 2022. Police found his body on Friday, Jan. 6 after Willis reportedly gave his body's location, 1100 block of S. 9th Street, police said in a news release.
According to police, detectives discovered a large amount of blood inside Wilcox's vehicle was cleaned from the trunk area.
Detectives learned Wilcox was shot to death, police said. Police added that Willis and Stephens admitted to being present during the shooting and that they disposed his body.
Both Willis and Stephens were charged with tampering with physical evidence/corpse, which is a second-degree felony. Both are being held on a bond of $500,000.
Though Waco PD believes Wilcox was killed in 2022, they are classifying this case as the first murder investigation of 2023.