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A man from Texas is facing murder charges following the alleged killing of his girlfriend, whose body is believed to have been discarded in Oklahoma. This tragic case has drawn considerable attention as authorities work to piece together the events leading up to her disappearance.
Molly Richards vanished in November 2025, triggering an investigation by the Little Elm Police Department. Concern for Molly’s wellbeing arose when her father, Steven Richards, reported her missing, according to a report from WFAA.
The last communication Steven Richards received from his daughter was in November, when Molly informed him via text message that she and her boyfriend, Christopher Charles Sanders, were planning a trip to South Dakota. In a subsequent message on December 1, she mentioned checking into a mental health facility to address her bipolar disorder. After these messages, Molly went silent, and repeated attempts by her father to contact Sanders yielded no response.
As investigators delved deeper, they discovered that Molly’s vehicle had been involved in a minor accident in South Dakota during November. A local witness recounted that Sanders had requested him to keep an eye on Molly’s vehicle while he purportedly took her to a doctor in Rapid City. This witness also noted that Sanders had left his own vehicle at a hotel and flown back to Texas, only to return a week later to retrieve his car.
Sanders reportedly shared with the witness that Molly had met someone in Deadwood and expressed a desire to remain with this person in Rapid City. As the investigation continues, authorities are striving to uncover the truth behind Molly Richards’ disappearance and the circumstances surrounding her untimely death.
Little Elm Police said in the affidavit that they checked motels, hotels, hospitals, and mental health facilities in the area but found no mention of Richards. They obtained a search warrant for her car and said they found a strong odor of cleaning products inside.
Then, the affidavit said, Richards’ phone, which had been off for weeks, reactivated and pinged near Sanders’ home. Less than a week later, a woman who was watching Sanders’ dogs at his home found several items belonging to her, including her driver’s license, bank and credit cards, a laptop, and unopened mail.
After that, investigators began watching Sanders and eventually executed search warrants on properties he owned in Denton and Little Elm. That’s when they found bedding with blood residue on it and a receipt from Lowe’s for the purchase of a bow saw, 10 five-gallon buckets, a tamper, a reciprocating saw, and gloves. The tools were not found.
Authorities say they believe Richards was killed around November 25, The Independent reported.
Sanders was arrested on March 7 in Marietta, Oklahoma, as he was returning to Texas from South Dakota. Sanders also owns property there, and investigators say they reconstructed the route of his vehicle as he traveled through Oklahoma en route to South Dakota on November 27.
They found he was near his property in Marietta for a little over an hour and believe he likely disposed of Richards’ body on or near his property during that time, the affidavit said.
Sanders has since been returned to Texas and is being held without bail.