**UPDATE** Missing child, Lela Black, has been located safely. Byron Black has been taken into custody.
PRINCETON, KY – (January 29, 2024) – On Sunday, January 28, 2024, at approximately 2 p.m. Kentucky State Police (KSP) Post 2 received a call from the Princeton Police Department requesting assistance with a death investigation on Center Street in Princeton.
The preliminary investigation revealed the Princeton Police Department responded to the residence for a welfare check and discovered the body of Kelly Black, 42 years of age, of Princeton Kentucky.
KSP Troopers and Detectives responded to the scene and learned Kelly Black is the victim of a murder. KSP launched an investigation and subsequently obtained an arrest warrant for the victim’s husband, Byron Black age 42 of Princeton. Byron Black left the scene prior to law enforcement’s arrival at the residence.
Lela Black, age 5, is currently missing. She is described as 3 foot 6 inches tall, 40 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She is believed to be with her biological father, Byron Black. He is suspected to be armed and dangerous and is currently wanted for murder. Byron Black is 42 years old, who is 6 foot tall, 180 pounds, with brown eyes and hair. Black is possibly traveling in a 1996 Chevrolet Silverado with the license plate 5J83779 and paint peeling off the hood.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Lela Black is asked to contact the Kentucky State Police, Post 2 at (270) 676-3313. Citizens may also report tips of Byron Black confidentially through the KSP website Tip Form found here: https://www.kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov/tip
PRINCETON, Ky. (AP) — An Amber Alert was issued Monday morning for a 5-year-old western Kentucky girl police say they believe is with her father, who is suspected of killing her mother.
Troopers were called to the child’s home in Princeton on Sunday and found that her mother, Kelly Black, had been fatally shot, Kentucky State Police said in a statement.
The girl is believed to be with her father, Byron Black, who has an arrest warrant issued for murder in the slaying of Kelly Black, police said. The man and girl have not been heard from since Friday, according to the alert.
Black, 42, is described as a 6-foot-tall white male with brown hair and eyes. He is suspected to be armed and dangerous, police said. Lela Black is described as 40 pounds with brown hair and eyes. They are believed to be traveling in a white 1996 Chevrolet Silverado with California plates, the alert said.