Left: Loretta Kay Carr (Dekalb County (Ala.) Sheriff”s Office). Right: Jessie Lee Kelly (Cherokee County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office.) Inset: Mary Elizabeth Isbell (Hartselle (Ala.) Police Department).
An Alabama woman has been sentenced to life imprisonment after she and her daughter were found guilty of kidnapping and pushing her romantic rival off a cliff in a national park.
Loretta Carr received a life sentence for the murder of Mary Beth Isbell, according to a statement from the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office. Additionally, Carr was handed a 20-year sentence for the kidnapping charge. She entered guilty pleas for first-degree murder and kidnapping on Thursday.
The incident unfolded on the night of October 18, 2021, when Carr and her daughter, Jessie Kelly, confronted Isbell at her home regarding a relationship dispute involving Carr’s partner. Following the confrontation, they forcibly abducted Isbell, placing her in their vehicle. The pair then drove to the Wolf Creek Overlook at Little River Canyon National Park, about 75 miles southeast of Huntsville.
Prosecutors detailed that Carr tied herself to a barrier at the overlook, coerced Isbell to climb over the edge, and subsequently pushed her off the canyon’s side.
Mary Beth Isbell was reported missing by her ex-husband in December, but it took authorities approximately 18 months to recover her body.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Carr, then 45, and Kelly, then 22, faced murder charges in 2023 in connection with Isbell’s death.
Isbell’s remains were found on June 28, 2023, and were positively identified two days later, on what would have been her 39th birthday.
Her disappearance remained a mystery for years until DeKalb County investigators received credible information in June 2023, leading to Carr and Kelly’s arrests shortly thereafter.
Kelly pleaded guilty last year. She was originally charged with capital murder but pleaded to the lesser charge of murder — which was announced the day her trial was supposed to start. Kelly was expected to testify against her mother if the case went to trial. She was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
“This is an example of a senseless act destroying a family. A mother is left without a daughter, sisters are left without their sibling, and a son is left without his mother,” District Attorney Summer Summerford said. “This family has been through so much, but they have walked with us and law enforcement throughout this process and have been so responsive and helpful. Please continue to pray for this family as they continue to figure out how to go through life without their loved one.”
