10 years after Alexis Murphy's murder, investigator provides new insight into the case

NELSON COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — On Saturday, August 3, 2013, Alexis Murphy tweeted "burg bound;" the 17-year-old had plans to shop in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Alexis never returned home.

Sunday, August 4

Alexis' family alerted the Nelson County Sheriff's Office, saying the disappearance was completely out of character for her.

Law enforcement started searching by land and air. Lead Investigator Billy Mays said it just didn't look like a runaway case.

Her profile wasn't of a runaway. She was popular in school, played volleyball, a very happy teenager," May said. "She had a great support group with her family."

Monday, August 5

Mays launched a massive effort to find the girl with the help of the FBI and State Police.

"We knew that Alexis had fueled up at the Liberty Gas Station," Mays said. "After talking to a clerk there, we knew there was some conversation between Alexis Murphy and a heavily tattooed person that drove a camouflage SUV."

Surveillance video confirmed the exchange at roughly 7 p.m. Saturday, August 3. She was also seen on surveillance leaving the gas station and heading south on Route 29 behind the same camouflage SUV.

Alexis' phone last pinged 17 minutes later, just a few hundred feet from Cannery Loop Road before it went dead.

"We were focusing on the area of the last ping of her phone for our initial canvas. During that canvas, some of the field agents interviewed a person who they identified as Randy Taylor," Mays said. "While they were briefing us on what their findings were we learned he drove an SUV that was camouflaged and that he was heavily tattooed."

That Monday night, Mays came face to face with Taylor for the first time. He said that his initial gut feeling saw red flags waving.

I don't know how to explain it in words -- just bad. He had a bad aura about him," Mays said. "Evil to say the least, yes."

Taylor claimed he never saw Alexis and did not know her.

"The fact that he denied having any knowledge of Alexis Murphy, not by name, but even the photograph we showed. He hadn't seen her when he clearly held a door for her," Mays said. "We knew he was lying."

"By Monday afternoon Randy Taylor was our suspect," he added.

Tuesday, August 6

Alexis' white Nissan turned up in the parking lot of the Carmike Cinema in Albemarle County.

Surveillance video showed someone dropping it off there Sunday night, but you can't make out who did it in the footage.

Wednesday, August 7

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Taylor's property. They found a fingernail embedded in the carpet of the camper, a stud earring, and hair.

"Based on my experience an earring can fall out, that's not uncommon," Mays said. "But the fingernail, that was torn. That was concerning to me. To me, it indicates something violent took place."

Just 36 hours later, the FBI's DNA analysis confirmed the hair, fingernails, and earring belonged to Alexis Murphy.

"So, we went back on Sunday to interview him again with the intention of arresting him for abduction," Mays said.

What Mays found inside the camper this time was another piece of the puzzle.

Balled up under the coach, they found the shirt Taylor was wearing in the surveillance video the day Alexis disappeared.

"Wrapped up inside the shirt was her eyelashes, press on eyelashes and, I'm not talking about a hair. I'm talking hair extensions that are weaved into your hair," Mays said. "Gobs of it was wrapped up and rolled into his shirt."

Mays had almost given up finding this evidence, so he was shocked to find it the second time they searched the camper.

The fact that they were there I think goes back to the fact that he's a sexual sadist," Mays said. "People like that like to keep a souvenir of some sort and I don't think he had any intention of getting rid of any of it."

Wednesday, August 14

11 days after Alexis disappeared, investigators got another major break using cell phone dogs from the Department of Corrections.

They're trained to sniff out the glue used in cell phones. An hour into the search, they found Alexis' phone.

"There's a white Apple iPhone 70 to 80 feet from the front door of his camper," Mays said. "It's just, it made the hair stand up on my neck. I couldn't believe it."

In the weeks and months that followed, Mays and his team continued to search for Alexis' body, to no avail.

"I wanted it for closure for the family but I wanted to charge him with murder, as well," Mays said of the suspect. "To do that without a body is very difficult to do."

Mays said there had only been one murder conviction without a body in Virginia history.

January 2014

Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin decided to move forward with a murder charge even without her remains.

May 2014

A jury found Taylor guilty of murder and abduction with the intent to defile.

Alexis' aunt, Angela Taylor, spoke to the media after the verdict.

"This has been a terrible nightmare our family has had to deal with because of his actions," she said. "It doesn't end today."

The judge handed down two life sentences. Mays said he feels like the world is safer.

"I think he was fascinated with her. I think he was stalking her," Mays said.

Mays gave some insight into what he believes Taylor did to Alexis.

"I think he strangled her," Mays said. "I'm certain he raped her."

December 2020

Investigators finally found Alexis Murphy's remains, 7 years and 4 months after she disappeared.

Up until now, the Nelson County Sheriff's Office has only said they were tipped off and the location was undisclosed.

Now, WSET is learning much more about the circumstances.

The Nelson County Commonwealth Attorney's Office said Taylor told investigators where he buried Alexis.

Her remains were recovered on the side of a mountain on December 3, 2020, near Stagebridge Road off Route 29. That's about four miles north of Taylor's trailer.

The medical examiner's report states Taylor admitted Alexis was suffocated.

A chilling end, but closure for her family and the investigators who searched for years to bring Alexis home.

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