Brittany Slaughter and Adam Hayes Charged; Suspect In The Murder of 4-Year-Old Found Dead

Brittany Slaughter, 24, and Adam Hayes, 34, face murder, corpse abuse, and evidence tampering charges. Two persons were arrested in connection with the death of 4-year-old Kentucky girl Chloe Darnell, the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department reported Friday on Facebook.

A body believed to be the 4-year-old boy’s has been retrieved and transferred to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort for an autopsy and positive identification, writes Kentucky authorities. Today, a family member named the deceased Chloe on GoFundMe.

The sheriff’s department charges Brittany Slaughter, 24, and Adam Hayes, 34, with murder, body abuse, and evidence tampering. adding that “an active investigation” may result in more charges. Slaughter had custody of Chloe, who had been missing since late September, according to the sheriff’s preliminary inquiry.

The sheriff’s department claimed Slaughter and Chloe were earlier reported missing in Canada Town, Whitley County. The sheriff’s department recovered a red 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer on Thursday, believing Slaughter was driving it before Chloe disappeared. Police arrested Slaughter and Hayes the following day. Tricia Hess, a family connection, described Chloe as “a bright, happy girl,” who lived with her aunt Brittany on her GoFundMe account.

Sacrifice. Hess said Hayes was Slaughter’s boyfriend. “Family and friends became suspicious because they hadn’t seen or spoken to Chloe for a month,” Hess wrote. She claimed Slaughter was found around 9 p.m. Thursday after a sheriff’s welfare check. “Overnight they searched the area around the house and surrounded the woods and found Chloe’s body,” Hess wrote.

The 4-year-old would receive “a proper funeral and burial” and Chloe’s seven siblings would be brought to town for her funeral, according to Hess. If you have information, call Whitley County Dispatch at 606-549-6017 and ask for Lt. David Lassiter, Unit 304, case number 23-118-0392.