A Louisiana massage therapist was found dead Tuesday at the location of her last appointment — and a man who lived there has been arrested in connection with her murder.
The body of 24-year-old Kayla Ann Denham was found in a barn on the Denham Springs property where Christopher Landry had recently started living, news station WAFB reported.
The coroner’s office said Wednesday the preliminary cause of the 24-year-old’s death is blunt force with head injuries associated with strangulation.
The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office said that Denham, who was a masseuse from Baton Rouge, had been scheduled to meet a client at 5 a.m. Monday at the home. The woman, who advertised her services online, reportedly had been working toward earning her massage therapy license.
Before the appointment, she texted her boyfriend the time and location of the house call.
Her family reported her missing when they could not get in contact with her.
“Friends and family became worried after she failed to return home and calls to her cellphone went unanswered,” Sheriff Jason Ard told the Advocate.
Denham’s boyfriend went to the property to look for her twice, and on his second visit found her car parked in the woods.
He called 911 and authorities discovered her body in the barn.
Authorities said Landry, 25, was arrested soon after on suspicion of killing Denham and booked at the Livingston Parish Detention Center.
He was charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. His bail was set at $250,000.
“We are in shock about the loss of our beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin and friend,” Denham’s cousin Michelle Guglielmo Gilliam wrote in a statement obtained by WBRZ-TV. “Kayla was a wonderful young woman who always shared a beautiful smile on her face and love in her heart. She will be greatly missed, and we ask for privacy during this very difficult period of mourning for the family.”