Podcast Summary: True Crime with Kendall Rae

Episode: Killed by Her Best Friend!? The Unbelievable Case of Taylor Wright
Host: Kendall Rae (Mile Higher Media & Audioboom Studios)
Date: September 18, 2025

Overview

In this gripping episode, Kendall Rae covers the shocking murder of Taylor Wright—a private investigator, mother, and former police officer—who was killed by her best friend, Ashley MacArthur, in a tragic betrayal motivated by greed. The case is a tangled web involving custody disputes, financial strife, and a calculated cover-up by someone whom Taylor considered her closest confidant.

Kendall’s empathetic approach focuses on keeping Taylor at the heart of the story, exploring her complex life and untimely death with both compassion and uncompromising detail.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Taylor Wright’s Background and Character

• Early Life: Adopted by the Murchison family after a turbulent childhood; described as tough, loyal, and both physically and mentally strong.
• Career: Police officer in North Carolina, later a private investigator in Florida. "Taylor was just in every way, a badass." (Kendall, 03:10)
• Personal Life: Marriage to Jeff (a Marine); they had a son together. Marriage ended in a contentious divorce marked by accusations of infidelity and custody battles.
• Transition to Florida: Taylor struggled with leaving law enforcement and adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom.
• New Relationship: After her divorce, Taylor entered a quick but intense romance with Cassandra "Cass" Waller.

2. Complex Personal & Financial Entanglements

• ** Custody and Money:** Ongoing custody fight and a court order to deposit $25,000 into escrow, stemming from a $100,000 car accident settlement Taylor believed was rightfully hers.
• Entrusting Ashley: Amidst mounting stress, Taylor entrusted best friend Ashley MacArthur with a significant portion of her money ($34,000 cashier’s check and $15,000 in cash), believing it to be held in a safety deposit box.

3. Taylor’s Disappearance

• The Last Day (Sept 8, 2017): Taylor left with Ashley for errands, supposedly to retrieve money. Ashley’s story: they went to the farm to relax and went for a ride—Taylor then allegedly left to a bar via Uber, but evidence later showed this was a fabrication.
• Odd Communications: Cass received strange texts from Taylor’s phone after she was last seen, including, "I'll call you later. I'm not angry with you… I just needed to think." (Throughout: 15:00–17:00)
• Cass’s Worry & Investigation: Cass, growing worried, pressed police to take the case seriously, despite initial skepticism due to Taylor’s skills as a PI.

4. The Investigation Unfolds

• Three Main Suspects: Cass (girlfriend), Jeff (ex-husband), and Ashley (best friend).
  • Cass: Searched and interrogated but cleared early.
  • Jeff: Provided conflicting narratives but had a solid alibi.
  • Ashley: Last to see Taylor, inconsistencies in her story, bizarrely unemotional, and repeatedly lied about events and the state of the money.
• Ashley’s Timeline Unravels: Cell phone data contradicted her claims about their whereabouts. She had moved Taylor’s money into her own bank accounts, forging signatures and rapidly depleting the funds.

Notable Quote

• "Taylor had been trying to get the money out of Ash's safety deposit box, Taylor said, for like four or five days. And Ash kept making up excuses." — Cass, via Kendall (28:29)

5. Evidence Mounts Against Ashley

• Phone Records: Pings placed both women at Ashley’s other aunt’s property—site of Taylor’s eventual grave.
• Financial Records: Ashley deposited Taylor’s money into her own account, spent it on lavish gifts, and lied to police about it.
• Surveillance Footage: Captured Ashley purchasing concrete and potting soil at Home Depot just after Taylor went missing.
• Suspicious Behavior: Ashley repeatedly contacted investigators under the guise of concern, but appeared to be fishing for information and casting suspicion onto Taylor's other relationships and supposed drug use.

6. Discovery and Arrest

• Remains Found (Oct 19, 2017): Taylor’s body discovered in a shallow grave, wrapped in a hammock, covered in potting soil and concrete—her bullet necklace intact.
• Cause of Death: Execution-style gunshot to the back of the head.
• Arrest & Charges: Ashley charged with first-degree murder (“…her best friend shot her execution style. And it had to have been… a sneak attack.” — Kendall, 60:24).

Memorable Moment

• "They knew it was her right away because of Taylor's bullet necklace… found in the grave right where her neck would have been." (60:18)

7. Trial and Conviction

• Trial (Aug 26, 2019):
  • Defense argued circumstantial evidence wasn’t enough.
  • Prosecution: Presented overwhelming evidence (phone data, interviews, purchase history) and cast Ashley as heartless and manipulative.
• Damning Testimony: Multiple witnesses described Ashley’s schemes—trying to poison Taylor with cocaine, making ominous statements (“the world would be a better place without Taylor”), and telling her lover, "They'll never find [Taylor]. She's gone."
• Conviction: Jury quickly found Ashley guilty. She was sentenced to life in prison, minimum 25 years before parole eligibility (2044). Appeal denied (2021).

Notable Quotes

• "I think Taylor seemed like a cool person, like someone that would be fun to hang out with. And I just feel so badly for everyone who has lost her and will miss out on years and years of great times together, and it's just heartbreaking. But again, the biggest loss here is for her son…" (75:40)
• "How can someone who has worked crime scenes be this stupid, this much of an idiot, this messy?" — Kendall (57:40)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [04:40] – Overview of Taylor’s troubled childhood and adoption by Murchisons
• [08:00] – Taylor’s career in law enforcement and marriage to Jeff
• [13:48] – Move to Florida, job loss, marital decline
• [15:51] – Divorce and custody battle context, onset of financial strife
• [20:46] – Taylor’s relationship with Cass; money entrusted to Ashley
• [22:35] – Timeline of Taylor’s disappearance; odd texts and initial police response
• [25:40] – Cass under investigation and the discovery of the $19,000 check
• [28:29] – Cass discusses Taylor’s increasing anxiety about getting the money from Ashley
• [31:47] – Interrogation of Cass, discussion of possible motives
• [37:51] – Ashley’s first in-depth timeline and contradictions
• [48:10] – Investigators focus on Ashley; evidence mounting
• [55:50] – Detective confronts Ashley with phone cell data exposing her lies
• [60:04] – Discovery of Taylor’s remains
• [64:30] – Reactions of Taylor’s family and loved ones
• [68:40] – Ashley’s prior fraud/arson and trial sequence
• [72:38] – Witness describes Ashley’s attempt to poison Taylor
• [74:00] – Ashley found guilty; life sentence handed down

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On trust and betrayal:
  "Her case is just one of ultimate betrayal…where it reminds me that you truly can't trust anyone in life…" — Kendall Rae (03:00)

• On the tragedy for Taylor’s family:
  "She was a loving mom. She truly loved her son more than life itself and only ever wanted what was best for him." — Kendall Rae (75:45)

• On the depth of Ashley's duplicity:
  "Meanwhile, she knew they absolutely were not going to ever be okay." — Kendall Rae describing Ashley's false comfort to Cass (70:40)

• On the trial's impact:
  "At the end of the day, prosecutors went through all of the times her phone had pinged on that farm and pointed out the sheer number of steps that her phone said she took that afternoon." (73:54)

Tone & Final Reflections

Kendall combines a matter-of-fact, detail-oriented narration with open empathy and outrage at the betrayal and loss suffered by Taylor and her loved ones. She repeatedly questions how someone with law enforcement experience could be so sloppy in their crime, while also reflecting on the larger themes of trust, greed, and the irreparable damage left in the aftermath:
"It's just heartbreaking. But again, the biggest loss here is for her son…to grow up without your mother and to one day learn what happened to her…it's infuriating." (75:40)

Overall, this episode stands as both a cautionary tale about trust—and how even the closest relationships can be weaponized by those motivated by greed—and a moving tribute to a vibrant life lost too soon. Taylor Wright is remembered not just for the manner of her death, but for her strength, wit, and the deep love she had for her family.