Paul Raymond Chandler appears in a Wichita County Jail mugshot.
A man in Texas was arrested this week for allegedly murdering his girlfriend and their unborn child, police say. Paul Raymond Chandler, 20, was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of capital murder of multiple persons for killing 19-year-old Kaycee Wofford, who the police said was approximately eight months pregnant.
According to an arrest affidavit, officers with the Wichita Falls Police Department on Wednesday responded to a call from a man who claimed that his wife was dead in their home. The caller, later identified as Chandler, stated that his wife was dead; he allegedly described her as “blue in the face” and “beyond help.”
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders found an “obviously pregnant” Wofford lying on her back next to an air mattress inside the house. Police said Wofford, who was approximately 32-weeks pregnant, appeared to have been dead “for several hours” before they arrived. Investigators noted what appeared to be blood coming from the corner of her mouth.
Paul allegedly said he and Wofford went to sleep together at approximately 1 a.m. in their upstairs bedroom. He claimed that when he woke up that morning, she was blue in the face, so he called 911. Police said Paul then tried to blame Wofford’s death on an unknown assailant.
“Paul made statements that he didn’t know what happened to her but he believed some unknown person may have climbed through their opened second story window and done something to her,” the affidavit states. “Officers did not further question Paul he just continued to make similar statements.”
Paul Raymond Chandler appears in a Wichita County Jail mugshot.
Two adult sisters, Christian Rhodes and Elizabeth Rhodes, and one of their children, age 8, also lived in the home and were present at the time of Wofford’s death, per police.
A homicide detective observed “lividity on multiple planes of [Wofford’s] body (indicating she had been moved)” and noted her face appeared to have petechia, which are small red or purple spots caused by bleeding into the skin.
Wofford’s body was sent to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy, and investigators obtained a search warrant for the home.
Christian and Elizabeth allegedly both told investigators that Chandler and Wofford had an argument at approximately 10 p.m. that lasted for about an hour. Following the argument, Chandler allegedly threatened to move out of the house but both eventually went upstairs to their room.
“Elizabeth stated sometime between 1230 and 0200 she was woken up by a loud thud, she heard Kaycee say ‘STOP’ then everything got quiet,” the affidavit states. “Elizabeth stated she didn’t hear anything else the rest of the night and went back to sleep.”
Investigators then spoke with Chandler, who initially claimed no argument ever took place between him and Wofford.
“Paul eventually stated there was an household argument and he and Kaycee talked of moving out but it didn’t get physical,” the affidavit states. “Paul stated after they talked but before falling asleep they engaged in what he considered ‘rough sex’ which included Kaycee being on her back and him putting his hand on her throat and pushing down to impede her airway (choking) while having sex. Paul stated when they were done having sex Kaycee had told him her throat hurts but she had also said she loved him.”
He was allegedly adamant that he and Wofford spoke after the “rough sex.”
The autopsy concluded that Wofford “had been strangled both by her throat and by compression on her chest which would have caused her death.” The medical examiner also found bleeding in her throat, face, scalp, chest, and shoulders.
“The medical examiner stated Kaycee would not have been able to talk after being choked/strangled,” police wrote. “It was also found that the blood coming from Kaycee’s mouth was caused by her bottom lip being ripped away from the gums. The medical examiner advised this would have caused a lot of bleeding unless she was dead or nearly dead at the time this injury occurred (there was very little blood at the scene).”
Per the affidavit, Wofford’s unborn child was a female who was otherwise healthy and “was only dead because the mother had died.”
Chandler is currently being held at the Wichita County Jail. A judge set his bond at $1.5 million, online records show.
The police referred to the couple as boyfriend and girlfriend; the defendant referred to his alleged victim as his “wife,” according to the police. Wofford’s Facebook page suggests the two were engaged.
“I’m so happy that I have u in my life and I’m glad that u can be here for me and our daughters,” Wofford wrote on Facebook on May 23 while posting a picture of herself and the man accused of killing her.
Read the arrest affidavit below.
[image via Wichita Falls Police Department]