Authorities make arrests in Northeast Kingdom homicide probe

A Connecticut man already behind bars for allegedly trafficking illegal drugs in the Northeast Kingdom has now been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Derby woman in February.

Jakiy Tramaine Corey Keith, 24, of Hartford, Connecticut, has been in custody since his arrest earlier this year on federal drug charges in Vermont.

Vermont Superior Court Judge Rory Thibault signed off on an arrest warrant Wednesday charging Keith with first-degree murder and unauthorized burial or removal of a body.

According to Vermont State Police, an investigation revealed that Keith shot 29-year Kayla Wright multiple times early in the morning on Feb. 2  inside a home on Route 100 in Troy.

“The shooting arose from a dispute related to drug trafficking in northern Vermont,” state police said in a press release Wednesday afternoon.

In addition to seeking the charges against Keith, state police said Wednesday that they arrested two Vermont men on charges related to the homicide investigation.

Aaron Camp, 34, of Derby, faces charges of unauthorized burial or removal of a body and being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Terron “Josh” Pendleton, 34, of Waterbury, faces one count of being an accessory after the fact to murder.

An attorney representing Camp and Pendleton at their arraignments Wednesday afternoon in Orleans County Superior criminal court in Newport invoked the right of the two men to wait a day before entering pleas to the charges against them.

Thibault ordered Pendleton held on $25,000 bail and Camp on $10,000 bail pending their arraignments Thursday.

Camp and Pendleton are accused of assisting with cleaning up the crime scene after the shooting, according to state police. Camp also helped Keith dispose of Wright’s body in a large toolbox in the area of Big Falls on the Missisquoi River in Troy, state police said.

An autopsy showed that Wright died of a gunshot wound to her head, according to state police.

Authorities executed a search warrant on a residence on Route 100 in Troy shortly after the homicide, leading to the arrest of three people on drug-related charges , including Keith, federal court records stated.

Wright had been at the home in the days before her death, according to the court documents.

Keith told police that he was asleep in the Derby home at the time of the reported shooting and didn’t hear any gunshots, according to court documents. Keith also said he was told that another man had shot and killed Wright, the court records stated.

If convicted of the first-degree murder charge, Keith faces up to 35 years to life in prison.

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