An Arizona man has been arrested in connection to the death of a 64-year-old woman who was reported missing on May 12. Brett Daniel Puett, 35, was apprehended and charged on Friday with the murder of Debra Lynn Childers whose body was found stuffed in a duffel bag that had been hidden inside a storage unit for several months.
In a statement from police, Childers' son, who lives out of state, said that he knew his mother had been mostly living in her car in the area of Kingman and Golden Valley in Arizona but had not seen or heard from her in months.
Investigators were able to track the suspect after he was busted withdrawing and draining money out of Childers’ bank account over a span of several months but with no sign of the victim.
“During the week of May 24th KPD (Kingman Police Department) detectives began investigating the money withdrawals and attempting to identify the subject making the withdrawals,” Kingman Police Department said.
Authorities were also able to identify Puett as the person driving the victim's vehicle which led them to have immediate cause for concern on Childers’ welfare.
Upon serving search warrants, investigators gained access to inspect two storage units registered under Childers’ name on May 28. Police found a large duffel bag that appeared to have been kept in storage for a long period of time. Concealed inside the duffel bag was a dead woman’s body.
A statement from the police read: “Based on evidence and information investigators believe the body to be Debra Lynn Childers, however official identification must be made by the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Kingman police said Puett and Childers had met last summer while they each lived out of their vehicles. They believe Childers was shot and killed while she and Puett shared a motel room in November last year. The relationship between the suspect and the victim are said to be platonic.
The suspect was located and taken into custody without incident at approximately 5 pm on May 28 after he arrived at his own home driving Childers’ vehicle.
According to the New York Post, Puett admitted his involvement in murdering Childers as well as making the money withdrawals from her bank account. He also confessed to transporting and concealing her body.
Puett is facing charges including second degree murder, abandonment and concealment of a dead body.
