Man sitting along I-40 randomly confesses to 2016 homicide, Oklahoma trooper reports

A man found wandering Interstate 40 surprised a passing state trooper when he randomly confessed to a 2016 killing that went unsolved for 8 years, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

It happened Thursday, May 2, after a passerby reported “someone sitting on the side of I-40” just east of Oklahoma City.

“Trooper (Matt) Snyder stopped to check on the man who began voluntarily telling him about his involvement in a 2016 Edmond death,” the highway patrol said in a May 3 news release.

Joseph Tyler Beck, 28, was taken to the Edmond Police Department, about a 15-mile drive north of Oklahoma City, and detectives there were convinced he was being truthful, officials said.

Beck has been charged with first-degree homicide in the “suspicious death” of Jennifer Kyli Molloy, police said.

Molloy’s body was found Oct. 5, 2016, in her Edmond apartment, officials said. Her dad, Johnny Molloy, told KFOR that the news of Beck being arrested was “a complete blindside.”

“Everybody knows him,” he told the TV station. “Everybody thinks he was the sweetest person and never would do anything to anybody.”

Police said they “hope this (arrest) ultimately ends in answers” for the family.

This story was originally published May 6, 2024 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Man sitting along I-40 randomly confesses to 2016 homicide, Oklahoma trooper reports."