Elijah Brown has been indicted on a murder charge tied to the death of 19-year-old Brayden Crawford of Abilene, whose body was found in the Brazos River near Nugent. Brown received the indictment Thursday and remains held in the Taylor County Jail on bonds totaling nearly $2 million.
A 15-year-old, whose identity is not being released because of the person’s age, was previously arrested and charged with murder in the case. Court documents say the teenager went to a police department the night Crawford died and acknowledged shooting him in the head.
According to the documents, the teenager said Brown picked him up and drove with him to a residence near North 8th Street to meet Crawford. The teenager reportedly told investigators that Crawford was shot while getting into their vehicle.
The documents say the pair transported Crawford to a bridge near FM 600 in Nugent and put his body in the river. They also allegedly cleaned the vehicle before going back into town.
Investigators obtained a video recorded by the teenager, along with information from home security footage, flock cameras and an iPhone. The evidence was used to establish a sequence that placed Brown leaving his home at about 8:30 a.m. and Crawford’s phone likely being discarded from the FM 600 bridge at about 9:46 a.m.
