CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) -- A Cedar Rapids mother said she's feeling a step closer to justice after police announced, Thursday, they have the man they believed to be her daughter's killer.
"We were hoping for exactly this information," said Lori McMann, the mother of AnnaElise Edgeton (McMann).
McMann's 18-year-old daughter died in January. Police found Edgeton's body in her Cedar Rapids apartment while conducting a welfare check. She had been missing work.
After months of investigating, prosecutors charged Kyler Junkins, 19, of Marion, with first-degree murder and first-degree burglary. Authorities think he broke into Edgeton's apartment, shot and killed the newlywed.
News of Thursday's charges was a welcomed update for Edgeton's mother.
"That was the best scenario we could think of," said McMann. "We got the news we were hoping for. We were very pleased it was so fast. We're just very thankful."
McMann was unfamiliar with Junkins, saying she had never heard of him before her daughter's death. Junkins' involvement only raised new questions for the family.
The same went for the teen's husband, John Edgeton. He told TV9 he was happy prosecutors had charged Junkins but said neither he nor his wife knew the man.
Court documents show Junkins has had multiple run-ins with law enforcement over the years.
A criminal complaint, from last year, alleges on November 18 Junkins grabbed and shoved his pregnant girlfriend, Audrey Ocker. He was arrested and charged with domestic abuse assault at the time.
Junkins was later released, pending trial, with the provision that he does not commit a crime.
Before that trial could happen, another complaint from a month later shows authorities believed Junkins threw a "landscaping rock" at a car in the 1800 block of Apache Drive in Marion, December 20. The rock allegedly caused more than $1,000 in damage.
A judge ordered a 2nd-degree criminal mischief warrant for Junkins' arrest, January 2.
On January 13, police found AnnaElise Edgeton dead in her apartment after she had missed work.
It was 10 days later, law enforcement arrested Junkins for the rock incident. He later posted bail and was released, but not for long.
A third complaint showed Junkins allegedly broke into a Cedar Rapids home, February 13, fleeing once he was confronted by the resident.
A judge issued another arrest warrant. Authorities took Junkins into custody a few days later, February 23. Junkins was placed in jail and has been there ever since.
Search warrant documents from January may shed some light on why prosecutors believe Junkins killed Edgeton.
Following Junkins' arrest for the December rock-throwing incident, authorities requested a warrant to search the suspect's phone for any connections to drugs or firearms.
March 30, another document shows the warrant wasn't executed. Instead, police wrote, "Returned unexecuted due to inability to get into phone. Case then developed into a federal one and a new search warrant was obtained through the Northern District of Iowa."
Junkins' murder charge was announced 20 days later.