Serving Army Man, Girlfriend Charged After Soldier's Wife Found Dead

A Fort Polk army man and his girlfriend were arrested in Louisiana on Sunday night after the body of the soldier’s wife was found in the trunk of the car they were traveling in, authorities said Monday.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso, in a press conference, said the case was transferred to U.S. Criminal Investigation Division at Fort Polk. He said 22-year-old Logan Kyle was arrested and the investigation into his actions will be handled by the agency as he was an active duty soldier at the time of the incident. The sheriff added the slaying of the woman allegedly happened at the man's Fort Polk property.

The woman who was driving the car in which the body was discovered, Sarah Parker, 24, of Lake Charles, was charged with obstruction of justice and failure to report a homicide. According to reports, her bond is still pending.

Officers said Parker was “aware Kyle killed the woman and attempted to aid him with the disposal and concealment of her body."

Reports said officers received a tip Sunday night about a woman driving around Lake Charles with a body in the trunk of the car. They stopped Parker’s car a little later. Her two children, a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old, were sitting in the back seat, while Kyle was in the passenger seat. On searching the car, deputies discovered the body in the trunk.

Mancuso said Kyle confessed to killing his wife. It is believed that he then met up with Parker, his girlfriend, and the two drove around the area in search of a place to dispose of the body.

"In many cases, we don’t get a call until the body is actually found," Mancuso, according to a report in Fox News. "We actually got this one before it was dumped which made it easier."

Kyle has been in the army for four years and was stationed at Fort Polk for a couple of years with 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. Base spokeswoman Kimberly Reischling said he was currently in custody. She added the wife’s name cannot be released until Tuesday due to Army regulations which require a 24-hour wait after notifying next of kin of the deceased.

“The family member’s death is under investigation by special agents from U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command,” Reischling told Army Times. “No further information will be released at this time to protect the integrity of the investigation.”

The formal charges against Kyle were not announced at the time of the report, but officials said more charges could be added against Parker. Her children were taken into custody by the Department of Children & Family Services.

“What disturbs us about that as law enforcement officers is, you know, when we come in contact, it would not be abnormal for us to draw our weapons on what we consider a felony stop," Mancuso said. “If we had to shoot into this car, or they shot back at us or for some reason, we could have injured two innocent children.”