Kayleah Wilson, 12, Found Dead in Drainage Ditch; Missing Child Case Ruled Homicide

​UPDATE: A police interview with Robert Montoya reveals he's a huge creep. He claims Kayleah asked him to abuse her, and that she'd mentioned she could be pregnant. But she seems to have dumped him at the time of her murder. See update after the jump...

Kayleah Wilson was walking to a friend's house for a birthday party March 28 in Greeley, Colorado. Surveillance video would later show she was still alone as she walked through the parking lot of the Greeley Mall. But she never showed up for the party.

Her mother grew worried when she didn't return home after the party ended at 7 p.m. By that time, the 12-year-old was nowhere to be found.

Since then, police and volunteers conducted a massive search. They knocked on more than 1,000 doors, and the FBI sent 50 agents to Greeley to help with the hunt. A known creep was questioned and ruled out as a suspect. Police also questioned Kayleah's 17-year-old boyfriend; mom didn't approve of the relationship.

But the search didn't end until yesterday. A worker checking a drainage ditch after heavy rain found her decomposing body in three feet of water. Her resting place was only a mile from her home.

Detectives aren't saying how she died, but their ruling it a homicide. They've been pounded with leads, but haven't made any arrests so far.

Robert Montoya: He's the kind of loser that dates 12-year-old girls

​UPDATE: Kayleah's 18-year-old boyfriend, a person of interest in her murder, has been arrested on sexual assault charges.

Police say the two had a sexual relationship going back to October. Since he turned 18 in January, he's essentially been charged with statutory rape.

Montoya's also a person of interest in her murder. There's been some speculation in the Colorado press that Kayleah was pregnant at the time of her slaying, though police refuse to discuss the matter.

According to Kayleah's mother, she didn't find out about the relationship until February. She told her daughter to break it off, but Kayleah kept secretly seeing Montoya after that. Police date the time frame of their assault charges from Montoya's birthday until the day Kayleah disappeared. He's now in jail on a $100,000 bond.

UPDATE: Montoya claims that Kayleah asked him to abuse her, then stalked her when she told him to leave her alone.

From Michael Roberts at our sister newspaper, Westword:

Now, the Weld County District Attorney's Office has released an affidavit about the case, and its contents are shocking. Among other assertions: Montoya, who actually lived at the Wilson family home for an extended stretch, said Kayleah, presumably, asked him to physically abuse her and had made comments about "possibly being pregnant."

The document is heavily redacted, owing to Kayleah's status as a juvenile. But the portions that aren't blacked out delve into the details of a highly dubious relationship. Here are some excerpts:

"[Redacted] stated she did confront both Robert Montoya and [redacted] during the first week of January 2010 about the type of relationship they were having. It was at this time Robert Montoya and [redacted] admitted they had been involved in a sexual relationship in the past and currently considered themselves each others respective boyfriend and girlfriend. [Redacted] stated she immediate told Robert Montoya to leave residence and to cease any relationship she had with [redacted]. [Redacted] stated [redacted] was very angry with her but she eventually stopped talking about her relationship with Robert Montoya and seemed to be moving past him. [redacted] did state she found [redacted] and Robert Montoya together again in February 2010 near 2811 28th St. at an abandoned car dealership and she again told Robert Montoya he was not allowed to see [redacted].

During a subsequent interview with Robert Montoya, he did admit to Det. Morgan he had been involved in a sexual relationship with [redacted] up until the middle of February 2010. Robert Montoya admitted to having sex with [redacted] on numerous occasions and stated [redacted] would frequently try and get him to physically abuse her during their sexual encounters. Robert Montoya did deny physically abusing [redacted]. During interviews with [redacted] friends, it was also learned [redacted] had made some comments about possibly being pregnant.

There's more. After the relationship with Kayleah supposedly ended in mid-February -- just six weeks or so before her March 28 disappearance -- Montoya told a detective that he continued to "try and see [redacted] and stated on some occasions he would hide in bushes outside her residence and did attempt to make contact with her at the Brentwood Middle School where [redacted] was a student." Once "when he tried to make contact with [redacted] at the Brentwood Middle School she called him a 'stalker freak' and told him to leave her alone."

Oh yeah: Montoya and his sister had been asked to move in October 2009 by their mother so she could "develop a relationship with Jonas Garcia," who, as a registered sex offender, was precluded from being around children.

Thus far, Montoya has only been charged with sexual assault -- but judging by the affidavit, you can bet local authorities are looking at him closely in regard to plenty more.

See our last Missing Persons story: Shon Pernice Indicted in Wife's Disappearance; Her Body Has Yet to Be Found.