Top image: Taterea McGuire (Facebook). Bottom image: LeDarren Tilley (Tarrant County Jail). Background: A section of road in Garland, Texas, where McGuire’s remains were discovered (Google Maps).
A mother of four in Texas was allegedly gunned down by her boyfriend and dumped in a Fort Worth field, where a landscaper found her shot to death and without pants — leading to a murder investigation that cops closed with help from her kids.
Taterea McGuire, 32, was found by a landscaper on Dec. 5 who was mowing a gated property owned by the City of Fort Worth Water Department, according to police officials. Her boyfriend, LeDarren Tilley, 37, has been arrested for her murder.
According to Tilley’s arrest affidavit, which was viewed by Law&Crime, McGuire was found shot to death in a field wearing a shirt, underwear, socks and one shoe. An investigation was launched by the Fort Worth Police Department, who discovered that McGuire had been reported missing by her mother on Dec. 3 after she failed to return her calls and messages.
A welfare check was conducted at her residence in Arlington by local police, who were unable to find any trace of her. The woman’s boyfriend, LeDarren Tilley, told cops he last saw McGuire on Dec. 2 when she left her residence alone.
McGuire’s children, however, had a different story.
“Her children told [McGuire’s mother] that Taterea and LeDarren left the house together,” according to Tilley’s affidavit. “And that LeDarren returned the following morning by himself … to take them to school.”
Police say Tilley told the children that McGuire was with another individual and wouldn’t be taking them to school, contradicting the story he gave detectives.
Interviews with the kids led to cops finding out that Tilley “carries a gun and it is either on his person or in [his vehicle],” according to the affidavit. The children allegedly talked about a “history” of domestic violence between McGuire and Tilley, the document says, noting how it had been going on for the past couple months.
Detectives reached out to Tilley to talk about what McGuire’s children, who are not his, were saying about him. He admitted to “fighting on and off” with McGuire, but claimed they were “getting along all day” before her disappearance on Dec. 2.
“LeDarren stated that while driving back home from Irving … [McGuire] began arguing with him,” the affidavit says. “Once at the residence LeDarren dropped Teterea off and left in the Tahoe driving straight to his father’s house in Dallas … Therefore, according to his own statement there would have been no reason for him to pass by the secluded area where her body was located, which is inconsistent with the data.”
In addition to the statements from McGuire’s children, police say they were also able to catch Tilley in his travel lie as well, as surveillance video allegedly shows him driving to and from the area where McGuire’s body was found. Tilley also told detectives he was the only one driving his white Chevrolet Tahoe that day and night.
“Due to the victim’s children providing information that LeDarren was the last person seen with Taterea alive and returning without her with an explanation that was false; his statements to police that are clearly false due to video evidence, and his admission of being in control of the Tahoe the entire night, it is clear of his involvement in her death,” the affidavit says.
A GoFundMe launched by McGuire’s family for funeral expenses describes her as “the sweetest person who would do anything for anyone.”
“She was tragically and unexpectedly shot and killed by her boyfriend, leaving behind four beautiful children,” the description says. “This is an incredibly difficult time, and the family needs support.”
