The Lexington mother of three was found dead in Madison County in 2019, and a trial is now set for 2027.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — April Arnett’s family has spent years waiting for answers after the 39-year-old mother of three was found dead beside a Madison County road in 2019, a case now set for trial in 2027.
The prosecution of Ryan “Todd” Crawley has brought new movement to a case that left Arnett’s family grieving through years of hearings and arrests. Crawley, 42, is accused of kidnapping and killing Arnett in Scott County before her body was found in northern Madison County. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and kidnapping charges filed in 2026. His trial is scheduled for May 17-28, 2027, nearly eight years after Arnett’s body was discovered.
Arnett’s relatives have described her first as a mother, sister and friend, not as a name in a court file. Her sister, Cara Parsons, said Arnett loved her children until the day she died. Parsons also remembered Arnett’s smile, family trips and the bond that remained after her death. “I don’t think April would ever understand how big of a hole she did leave,” Parsons said in an earlier interview. Those memories now sit alongside a criminal case with multiple defendants and a long timeline.
The family’s loss became public on Aug. 17, 2019, when Kentucky State Police were notified about a possible body off Old Lexington Road in northern Madison County. Police said the remains were taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort. On Aug. 20, 2019, state police identified the woman as April D. Arnett, 39, of Lexington. At that time, the cause of death was pending, and police asked anyone with information to contact investigators. The case soon spread beyond one county.
Investigators have said Arnett was killed four days earlier, on Aug. 13, 2019, in Scott County. A later indictment accused Crawley of murder and of concealing evidence by wrapping Arnett’s body and storing it under his trailer. Authorities have not publicly detailed how Arnett died. The unknown cause of death remains a key point in the case, even as prosecutors have described what they believe happened after her death. Crawley previously pleaded guilty in Madison County to evidence tampering and abuse of a corpse.
For Parsons, the roadside discovery was the moment the case became real. She said the family learned that Arnett had been found dead hours after the body was discovered. “That’s just a punch in the gut,” Parsons said. She recalled thinking she could not believe it. Family members later held on to pieces of Arnett’s memory, including handwritten words, tattoos and stories of trips together. The grief was steady even as the legal process moved in steps that often came months or years apart.
The first arrests focused on Ryan Crawley and Ronald “Doug” Crawley. Authorities said both men were tied to evidence-tampering and corpse-abuse allegations. Ronald Crawley was arrested in Oregon in October 2019 after police had asked the public for help finding him. Court citations later said the two men drove Arnett’s body into Madison County, tried to throw it from Old Clays Ferry Bridge with cinder blocks attached and then left it by Old Lexington Road after the body became stuck on a guy wire.
The case widened in 2025, when Jenny Keller, Bridgett Lyons and James Watson were arrested. Keller was accused of helping arrange the kidnapping. Lyons and Watson were accused with Doug Crawley of helping destroy or remove evidence. Those charges changed the public picture of the case from a disposal investigation into an alleged kidnapping and killing involving several people. They also gave Arnett’s family another sign that investigators had not stopped working, even years after the first arrests.
In February 2026, a Scott County grand jury indicted Ryan Crawley on murder, kidnapping and tampering allegations. At a later arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to murder. In May, the court set the 2027 trial date. The new schedule gives the family a future point in the case, but it does not answer the questions that have lingered since 2019. Prosecutors still must prove the charges. Crawley is presumed innocent of the pending murder and kidnapping counts unless a jury convicts him.
The trial may force jurors to weigh events from several places: Scott County, where prosecutors say Arnett was killed; Crawley’s property, where authorities say the body was concealed; Old Clays Ferry Bridge, where an attempted disposal allegedly failed; and Old Lexington Road, where the body was found. Each location carries a different part of the state’s theory. Defense lawyers may challenge how those pieces connect and whether the evidence supports the charges filed years after Arnett’s death.
Arnett’s family has made clear that the legal process is only one part of the loss. Parsons has said Arnett had “the biggest heart” and that her children were central to her life. The family did not always comment after each new court development, but earlier statements show how closely they followed the case. The coming trial could bring testimony about Arnett’s final days, the actions of the defendants and the investigation that kept the case open.
As the case moves toward 2027, Arnett’s relatives remain tied to a court calendar they did not choose. The next major milestone is Crawley’s May 17 trial date in Scott County Circuit Court, where prosecutors will try to prove the murder and kidnapping charges to a jury.
Author note: Last updated May 25, 2026.