Young beauty queen, 23, texted suspect before tragic disappearance

 October 24, 2025

Text messages uncovered in court documents paint a haunting picture of Kada Scott's final hours before her tragic death in Philadelphia.

As reported by Daily Mail, the 23-year-old beauty queen and recent Penn graduate vanished after leaving her workplace on October 4, only to be found weeks later in a shallow grave, killed by gunshot wounds, with 21-year-old Keon King now facing murder and multiple related charges.

The details emerging from this case are as chilling as they are heartbreaking, revealing a young woman caught in a dangerous web just moments before her life was cut short.

Unraveling the Final Messages

Scott and King had been exchanging texts since September 28, with their conversations taking a disturbing turn on the morning of her disappearance. On that day, Scott texted King, "kidnap me again," to which he replied, "better be up too," according to court documents cited by NBC 10.

That flippant exchange, likely meant as a joke, now reads as a grim foreshadowing of the violence that followed. It's hard to fathom how a playful message could precede such a brutal outcome, raising questions about the nature of their relationship and the warning signs that may have been missed.

By that evening, Scott texted King again, saying, "cm [call me] when u here," suggesting they planned to meet after her shift at a senior living facility. Less than an hour later, police believe she was killed, a timeline that shocks the conscience with its speed and finality.

Disturbing Clues and a Frantic Search

Before vanishing, Scott was overheard by a co-worker angrily saying on the phone, "I can't believe you're calling me about this," hinting at tension in her final moments, as reported by Daily Mail. She had also confided to family days earlier about being harassed via phone calls, a detail that now carries tragic weight.

After that call, she was seen walking to a black car outside her workplace, a vehicle authorities believe King stole to meet her. Her own car was left parked at the facility, and her phone went offline, signaling the start of a nightmare for her loved ones.

Her family, community, and police launched an exhaustive search, desperate for any lead on her whereabouts. It took nearly three weeks of anguish before tips from locals pointed investigators to Ada H. Lewis Middle School, where her remains were uncovered on October 18.

Grim Discovery and Mounting Evidence

Scott's body was found buried in a shallow grave near the middle school, with medical examiners confirming she died from gunshot wounds. Surveillance footage from October 5 showed two individuals removing a heavy object from a car and placing it into the ground, a chilling piece of evidence in this unfolding horror.

Earlier that week, police had also located the black vehicle believed to have been used that night, damaged by fire and containing Scott's debit card and phone case. The deliberate attempt to destroy evidence only deepens the sense of outrage over this calculated act of violence.

King was arrested on October 15, initially charged with kidnapping, stalking, and tampering with evidence, among other counts. Those charges have since escalated to include murder, arson, and abuse of a corpse, reflecting the severity of the crime as more details emerged.

A Community Mourns and Questions Remain

King now sits in Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on a $2.5 million bond, awaiting a court appearance on November 3. While justice moves forward, it offers little solace to a family and community grieving the loss of a bright young woman with dreams of representing her state as a Miss USA hopeful.

The text messages, particularly that haunting "kidnap me again," linger as a painful reminder of how quickly safety can unravel in the face of hidden dangers. It's a stark lesson in the need for vigilance, especially when casual words can mask deeper risks in relationships that turn deadly.

This tragedy cuts deep, not just for the loss of Kada Scott, but for what it reveals about the vulnerabilities even the most promising among us face. Society must grapple with how to better protect young women from such fates, ensuring that no more lives are stolen in the shadows of misplaced trust.

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