AUSTIN, Texas — We now know what may have happened in the moments before a man was reportedly shot and killed and buried in concrete in a South Austin backyard.
In murder arrest affidavits obtained by KVUE on Monday, police said on Aug. 18 around 8:42 p.m., they received a call of a body buried in the backyard of a home on Mojave Drive. The caller said she visited her friend, later identified by police as Kristie Cardenas, who claimed she buried her ex-boyfriend in the backyard.
A man that was with Cardenas at the time of this conversation added that "it happened" inside the house. The man then reportedly pointed out the drag marks where they had removed the ex-boyfriend from the home. The man told the friend they "bleached" the marks on the floor, according to police.
Police said Cardenas began talking to her friend about her ex-boyfriend, identified by police as Nicklas Wayne Kinslow, and led her to a concrete mass in the backyard that was shaped like a body and surrounded by cinder blocks. Cardenas said Kinslow was buried under the concrete.
The following day, police searched the home and backyard and a human corpse was recovered from the concrete. Cardenas and Walker Kaatz were identified as the owners of the residence. Police later confirmed Kinslow was the man buried and said he died from a gunshot wound.
Police spoke with Kaatz's father, who said Kaatz told him a body was found in his backyard and asked if his father could take him to a financial institution so he could get money to purchase a car so he could leave town.
A neighbor reportedly told police that she once saw Kaatz unloading cinder blocks from a Home Depot rental truck at his house. Police said they found receipts from Home Depot inside the home that were dated Aug. 14. The receipts included a rental truck, 80 pounds of concrete mix, a five-gallon bucket, plywood, concrete blocks and bleach products to name a few.
Another witness told police Cardenas and Kaatz hired him to clean up what he believed to be Kinslow's room the night of Aug. 17 and the morning of Aug. 18. The witness told police Cardenas and Kaatz told him that Kinslow wouldn't be around anymore because he left for Mexico, but they later confessed to him that they had shot and killed Kinslow, and even pointed out bullet holes in the wall.
According to the affidavit, Cardenas told the witness she shot Kinslow eight times, but the witness didn't believe her. At some point, the witness went outside to get a hammer, and Cardenas told him, "Say hi to Nicklas for us," the affidavit said.
Upon further investigation, police found a defect in the closet of Kinslow's room, and a projectile sitting on a bookshelf that was adjacent to the closet wall. Police also found a revolver in Kaatz's room.
Cardenas and Kaatz have both been charged with murder. The bond for both of them has been set at $750,000 each. According to online records, Cardenas and Kaatz are still in police custody as of Sept. 14.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: