The vanishing of Taylor Wright was a tale of betrayal and deception unlike any other. In the end, it was Wright’s own friend, Ashley McArthur, who was convicted of first-degree murder.

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Born on August 22, 1977, Ashley McArthur is a former crime scene investigator from Pensacola, Florida. It was on October 9, 2017 — after a lengthy investigation — that McArthur was arrested in relation to her late friend Taylor Wright’s murder. At this time, she and Wright were believed to be best friends.

Simultaneously, Wright was in the midst of a divorce from her husband Jeff Wright. Right before her death, Wright withdrew $34,000 from her and Jeff’s joint account to give to Ashley. According to reports, Ashley was entrusted with the money for safekeeping, but when the money went missing, it sparked a dispute between the pair.

A month before McArthur’s arrest, on September 8, 2017, the two friends arranged to meet up and it was the last time Taylor was seen alive. Despite her arrest two years prior, it wasn’t until October 30, 2019, that McArthur was found guilty of premeditated first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Where is Ashley McArthur now?

As of 2023, McArthur remains incarcerated at Lowell Annex Correctional Institution in Ocala, currently serving out her sentence of life in prison with a minimum of 25 years.

During the trial, a witness testified against McArthur, confirming that the murder was premeditated and McArthur had been planning Wright’s murder for some time.

As The Sun reiterates, witness Ashley Warne told the court:

“She said she was going to put it [cocaine] in Taylor’s beer.

She said this world would be better if Taylor wasn’t here, and she wasn’t a good person, and that she was too small to hurt anybody so she’d just shoot her.”

McArthur, 46, has only served what would be her fourth year in prison as of October 2023.