EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – Arrest papers for Khayla Dawson, the woman accused in a homicide investigation that began in northern El Paso County on Monday, allege that she stabbed the driver of an Uber she ordered before leaving his body in a field and then stealing his vehicle.
According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a report of a missing man from the Cimarron Hills area at around 3:45 a.m. on Monday, who arrest papers identify as 38-year-old Jeremy Campbell. Arrest papers say the Campbell’s father told deputies he was an Uber driver, and he had not answered calls from his family and was not usually out so late. His family also reportedly told officials that Campbell was paralyzed on his right side.
EPSO said deputies located the Campbell’s vehicle at the Polaris Junction apartment complex, on the north side of Colorado Springs near I-25 and North Gate Boulevard.
The arrest papers go on to say Uber let deputies know that Campbell’s last customer had been Dawson, who lived at the complex. The app reportedly marked her trip as beginning just after 11:45 p.m. Sunday. The papers say the intended drop-off location was an address on Bent Spur Trail, and the trip was cancelled by Dawson just before 3 a.m.
Dawson was contacted by deputies at her apartment, and reportedly told them Campbell took her to an address on Eastonville, she stabbed him, left him there and then took the car back to her apartment.
According to the arrest papers, Dawson initially told a detective she ordered the ride to go visit a friend, then later said she just wanted to go for a “joy ride” and get some air, saying she was going to call another Uber to pick her up once she was dropped off.
Documents go on to say she told the detective she fell asleep in the back of the car and woke up to the man trying to touch her, which is when she pulled out a knife. She reportedly told deputies that the man then pulled out a knife as well, she then stabbed him in the neck, and in the struggle that followed, he drove the car through a fence into a field with horses. The papers say she told deputies she then pulled him out of the car, got in the driver’s seat, and drove his car back to her apartment.
The arrest papers say during a search of Dawson’s apartment, deputies found her butcher block was missing the largest knife, and said they also found an “approximate 18′ blade machete-type knife” hidden behind a cabinet in her living room. The papers say police also found the victim’s car key fob hidden in a box of dryer sheets in Dawson’s laundry room, and his wallet hidden inside a lunch box on top of a kitchen cabinet.
Deputies also say in the arrest papers that there was a gap in location tracking on Dawson’s phone during the incident, indicating that she had turned it off, put it in airplane mode, or shut off the Uber app prior to being picked up by Campbell.
Deputies said detectives responding to the field near Eastonville and Hodgen found a knife that appeared to match the one missing from Dawson’s butcher block. Papers go on to say a folding knife was also found in the area, as well as two of Dawson’s credit cards. Campbell was reportedly found with multiple stab wounds in the area of his head and face, and several defensive wounds to his left hand.
The documents say Dawson was taken to the hospital based on statements she made that indicated she might have been assaulted, and deputies said she refused to provide further details or speak without her attorney, but one of her knees was broken.
Dawson was arrested on Monday afternoon on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, second-degree motor vehicle theft, and tampering with physical evidence.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Dawson is still in the El Paso County jail, being held without bond. She is scheduled to appear in court next week.
11 News spoke with the family of Campbell, who said they did not want to comment at this time.
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