Arrest warrant details Arson charge against man accused of killing Kayla Kelly

The arrest warrant filing for Okastor Ferguson, the man accused of killing Kayla Kelly earlier this month, reveals new details about what investigators believe happened to her car.

According to a document obtained Monday by NBC 5, Kelly’s 2017 Acura MDX was set on fire sometime between 2 and 6 a.m. Jan. 11, a time confirmed by smoke seen on surveillance video, though she was not discovered by police until a passer-by noticed the burnt car around 9:21 am on January 12th.

Officials said the Frisco Fire Department received a call about a car seen on the 8400 block of County Road 24, and that firefighters said the car was on fire until it was completely engulfed in flames and burned out.

Fire investigators who examined the vehicle soon learned that it had not been stolen, and the 33-year-old owner of the vehicle was missing. They then notified the Collin County Sheriff’s Office of the whereabouts of the missing woman’s car.

Investigators from the sheriff’s department said they learned the missing woman dated 32-year-old Ocastor Ferguson and that phone records showed the couple had been in contact prior to her disappearance. According to the arrest warrant, Ferguson told investigators that he was with her on January 10 and went to her house after she picked him up from work at 11 p.m.

According to North Texas Transportation Authority records, in the early hours of January 11, Kelly’s car headed north on the Dallas Northern Tollway into North Frisco.

Call records showed that Ferguson was in the 24 County Road area where the burnt car was found, around the same time the car caught fire. Ferguson was then picked up from travel companion service and taken to his home in Grande Prairie, investigators said.

According to the affidavit, sheriff’s office investigators also learned that on January 10, Ferguson bought items to set fire to a car, a lighter, and a gas bottle.

Ferguson, who was charged last week with Kelly’s murder after her body was found near his home in Grande Prairie. Ferguson was also charged with arson, a felony in the second degree, and kidnapping, a felony in the third degree. Ferguson is held under bonds totaling more than $2.5 million. No lawyer listed.

An attached court document seeking an increase in Ferguson’s bail says he is a Jamaican with little connection to the local area. Police said Ferguson recently returned to North Texas after visiting the island nation.