According to court filings, two guys in Missouri kidnapped an 18-year-old female, stuffed socks into her mouth, and tied her up before raping and murdering her with the help of a third male.
“Playing with a woman tonight,” suspect Kennan Peoples wrote in a text message to co-suspect Donald Peoples Jr. on Nov. 3, referring to victim Kaniah Jennings, who was kidnapped that evening by Kennan and co-suspect Blake Patrick, according to a probable cause statement.
Jennings was reported missing on November 4 in Pemiscot County. A police news statement states that she was last seen the night before in Hayti.
Kennan Peoples and Patrick are accused of snatching up Jennings from her home in Portageville and holding her hostage at the home Kennan shared with Donald Peoples. According to cops, Patrick told them what allegedly happened.
“While at the residence … one of the suspects, Blake Patrick, described both he and Kennan Peoples as having sex with Jennings,” according to a court report. “Patrick went on to say that during this intercourse, Kennan Peoples placed socks inside Jennings’ mouth.” Following this incident, Patrick depicts Jennings as being tied up with a blanket over her head.
While everything was going on, Kennan Peoples allegedly began texting Donald Peoples about the situation. “Hey, take your sweet time getting home,” he texted, according to the probable cause statement.
After allegedly telling him about “playing with a woman,” cops claim Donald Peoples wrote, “Lord How [sic] mercy lol well thats the purpose of having your own end of the house.” Do your thang, where is the little white boy, and did you let him stay?”
Kennan Peoples and Patrick allegedly drove away from the house in a Nissan Frontier, with Jennings still tied up and wearing a blanket over her head. According to the probable cause statement, he pumped $20 in petrol that Patrick paid to himself from Jennings’ Cash App account on her mobile.
After getting gas, the two men allegedly drove back to Jennings’ home in Portageville and placed her cellphone “on the ground near her residence,” according to police. They then drove back to Kennan Peoples’ home with Donald Peoples, where they found him seated on the couch with Jennings “still having her hands bound and a blanket over her head,” according to police.
“Patrick describes Kennan as taking Jennings to a bedroom and raping her,” the probable cause statement states. “During this period, Patrick claims that Jennings was still alive but in ‘poor form.’ Patrick claims that he grew terrified and fled the house, grabbing the Frontier and heading directly to Arkansas.
According to the probable cause statement, Jennings died between the evening of November 3 and the morning of November 4, with Donald and Kennan Peoples remaining at the property “for the duration of the night with Jennings still at the residence, believed to be deceased.” According to a police news release, the two men eventually transferred Jennings’ body to an area in “rural Pemiscot County,” where it was discovered on Friday.
Authorities investigated various leads and discovered surveillance footage linking Kennan Peoples, Donald Peoples, and Patrick to Jennings’ disappearance. The trio was arrested over the weekend and accused with several felonies.
Kennan Peoples is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, rape, and tampering with evidence; Donald Peoples is charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence; and Patrick is charged with first-degree accessory to murder, kidnapping, and rape.
All three guys are scheduled to appear in court on Monday for their arraignment.
