Pott. County Deputies Arrest Man Accused Of Killing Wife

Pottawatomie County deputies arrested a man on Wednesday for the murder of his wife. 

Investigators believe Frank Byers killed his wife, Makayla Meave-Byers, to start a relationship with another woman. The victim’s family told investigators they were suspicious of Byers from the time Meave-Byers went missing and was found murdered last month.

A handcuffed Byers was escorted out of the Pottawatomie County courthouse and booked into jail early Wednesday morning. It was mid-September when investigators started tying evidence of the murder to Byers. 

The Pottawatomie County undersheriff spoke to News 9 after the body of a partially clothed woman was discovered in a tin horn.

“The body was wrapped in some carpet, and it was in culvert under the road,” said Undersheriff Travis Dinwiddie, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office. “It was definitely placed there by someone; it couldn’t just end up there on its own.”

The body was later identified by the state medical examiner as Meave-Byers; they said she was shot twice in the head.

According to court documents, Byers told Pottawatomie County deputies his wife went on a date last month and never returned home; Byers claimed they had an open relationship.

Investigators gathered evidence from Byer's home, phone records and interviews.

Byer's arrest warrant stated his boots were covered in Maeve-Byer's blood. The document also noted Byers removed the sim card from his wife’s phone, put it into another phone, and logged into her Facebook account to exchange fake messages about her alleged "date." 

Investigators learned Byers transferred money from Meave-Byer’s bank account into his account the day she went missing. Byers also admitted to having his wife’s debit card and phones.

Byers was jailed on one count of first-degree murder, unauthorized removal of a dead body and desecration of a human corpse.