Burned remains found on rural land are believed to be Chris Kidwell, 33, say prosecutors.
OROVILLE, Calif. — A missing-man concern in rural Butte County has turned into a murder prosecution after authorities said burned remains found on a property east of Oroville are believed to be those of 33-year-old Chris Kidwell.
Prosecutors say Kidwell had been living on the property of Joseph Dexter Taylor, 52, since late last year. On March 20, Kidwell’s family contacted the sheriff’s office after they had been unable to reach him for about a week. By March 26, Taylor had appeared in court on a murder charge, pleaded not guilty and been ordered held without bail as investigators worked to complete the victim identification and build the case.
The public account released by prosecutors puts Kidwell near the center of the story long before Taylor entered his plea. District Attorney Mike Ramsey said evidence from the investigation “strongly suggests” the victim is Kidwell, but final identification was still forthcoming when the charge was announced. That left the case in a narrow space familiar in early homicide investigations: officials say they know who the victim likely is, but they are still waiting for the final step that turns a strong conclusion into a formal one. Prosecutors have not said what records or tests they are relying on, nor have they said exactly when Kidwell was last seen alive.
From there, the timeline widened. Authorities say two people called 911 on March 21 after finding what they believed to be a human skull and other skeletal remains on Taylor’s property on Ricky Road in the Hurleton area east of Oroville. Prosecutors said those same witnesses also told investigators that Taylor had shown up at their home in the early morning hours of March 20, appearing agitated and talking about a cremation. They also reported seeing burn marks on his legs. Those details quickly gave detectives a bridge between the missing-person concern raised by Kidwell’s family and the scene investigators would later examine on the rural property.
The evidence description released so far remains limited but important. Ramsey said investigators believe Kidwell was shot before his body was burned. Officials have not publicly described the weapon, the location of any shooting, the size of the search area, or whether detectives found shell casings, blood evidence or other remains beyond the skull and skeletal material described in the first reports. Those gaps matter because they will likely define the next stage of the case. For now, the known public record is built from a few strong points: a man reported missing by worried relatives, remains found where he had been living, witness statements about a cremation, and a prosecutor’s statement that the victim appears to have been shot before the burning.
The case also underscores how family concern can become the first visible sign of a crime before police announce a suspect or a cause of death. Kidwell’s relatives, according to prosecutors, had spent about a week trying to contact him before they turned to the sheriff’s office. In many cases, that kind of silence can have several explanations. Here, it became part of the investigation’s clock. By the time Taylor was charged, prosecutors were tying that period of no contact to a scene on the property where Kidwell had been staying. Officials have not said whether Kidwell had work ties, nearby relatives in Butte County or a fixed move-in date on the property, but they did say he had been living there since late last year.
Taylor’s legal situation is serious and still developing. He entered a not guilty plea to the murder charge on March 26 in Butte County Superior Court. Prosecutors said he also faced a separate firearm case, and reporting on the case said he had separate arson-related charges pending as well. He was held on a no-bail order, which prosecutors said reflected both the severity of the murder allegation and pending arson matters in Lake County. He was scheduled to return to court April 2 to set a date for a preliminary hearing, the next step that will test how much of the prosecution’s evidence is laid out in open court.
Currently, the case stands at an uneasy midpoint: Kidwell’s family has an explanation from prosecutors for why he disappeared, but final identification was still pending when the charge was filed. Taylor has denied the allegation, and the next public test of the case is the April 2 hearing date setting.
Author note: Last updated 2026-04-18.