LITTLE ELM, TX — Christopher Charles Sanders, 35, was arrested in Oklahoma on murder charges after police say he killed his girlfriend Molly Richards and buried her remains somewhere in the state, according to court documents obtained by investigators.
The arrest follows a months-long investigation that began when Richards’ father contacted Little Elm police in December 2025, expressing concern that he hadn’t heard from his daughter since November. Sanders, who had been living with Richards at his Little Elm home since late October, was unresponsive to the father’s repeated attempts to locate her, police said. The case highlights the challenges investigators face when searching across state lines for missing persons, particularly when suspects provide conflicting accounts of a victim’s whereabouts.
Steven Richards told police he last saw his daughter Molly in November 2025, and that she had previously told him Sanders had been abusive toward her. According to the arrest affidavit, Molly sent her father a text message saying she and Sanders would be traveling to South Dakota in November. The last communication Steven Richards received from his daughter was on December 1, 2025, when she texted that she was checking herself into a mental health facility for her bipolar disorder. After that final message, Steven Richards repeatedly contacted Sanders asking about Molly’s location. “Went by your place. Where is Molly anyway?” Steven texted Sanders on December 15. “There was no answer at the door, and I didn’t see her car. I am worried about Molly. Can you tell me where she is and how she is doing?” Sanders never responded to these messages, police said.
Police investigation revealed that Richards’ vehicle was involved in a minor accident in Deadwood, South Dakota, leading investigators to a witness who was friends with Sanders. The witness told police he met Richards at a bar with Sanders in November 2025 and that Sanders had asked him to watch over Richards’ vehicle while Sanders took her to see a doctor in Rapid City, South Dakota. According to court documents, Sanders left his own vehicle at a hotel, flew back to Texas, then returned a week later to retrieve his car while leaving Richards’ vehicle with the witness. Sanders allegedly told the witness that Richards had met another man in Deadwood and wanted to stay with him at a motel in Rapid City. Little Elm police contacted numerous motels, facilities, hotels, hospitals, and mental health facilities in the Rapid City area, but none had any record of Richards checking in or being seen. When police obtained a search warrant for Richards’ abandoned vehicle, they noted a strong smell of cleaning products inside.
The investigation took a significant turn in February 2026 when Richards’ phone was reactivated and pinged near Sanders’ home in Denton. On February 24, a woman caring for Sanders’ dogs at his South Dakota property discovered several items belonging to Richards, including her driver’s license, bank and credit cards, a laptop, and unopened mail. Police then began surveillance of Sanders and executed search warrants at properties he owned in Denton and Little Elm. Investigators found bedding with blood residue, a receipt from Lowe’s for the purchase of a 24-inch bow saw, ten five-gallon buckets, a Kobalt tamper, a reciprocating saw, gloves, unopened mail addressed to Richards, prescription drugs made out to Richards, and documents bearing both Sanders’ and Richards’ signatures. The collection of tools and cleaning supplies, combined with the blood evidence, led investigators to believe Sanders had killed and disposed of Richards’ body.
The missing persons case differs from other recent regional investigations, including unrelated murder charges filed against two men in Jefferson County for killing a woman found in her crashed vehicle, and separate arrests of murder suspects traveling through Interstate 10 corridors in Texas. Unlike those cases where victims were discovered, Richards’ remains have not been located despite extensive searches across multiple states. The cross-state nature of the investigation required coordination between Texas, South Dakota, and Oklahoma law enforcement agencies, demonstrating the complexity of modern missing persons cases that span multiple jurisdictions.
Sanders was arrested on March 7, 2026, in Marietta, Oklahoma, as he traveled from South Dakota back toward Texas. During questioning, police say Sanders denied killing Richards and refused to provide details about her whereabouts or the location of her phone and personal items. He was transported to the Denton County jail where he remains in custody. Prosecutors have not yet announced formal charges, though the arrest affidavit indicates they believe Sanders killed Richards and buried her remains somewhere in Oklahoma. The investigation officially remains classified as a missing persons case since Richards’ body has not been recovered.
The case has drawn attention to domestic violence resources in the North Texas area, as Richards had previously expressed concerns about Sanders’ abusive behavior to her father. Local advocates note that victims often face increased danger when attempting to leave abusive relationships, particularly when travel to isolated locations is involved. Police continue to search for Richards’ remains and are asking anyone with information about Sanders’ activities between November 2025 and March 2026 to contact investigators. The multi-state investigation remains active, with authorities in Oklahoma assisting Texas law enforcement in the search for evidence and Richards’ body.
As the investigation continues, Sanders awaits formal charging in the Denton County jail system. Court records indicate prosecutors are building their case around the physical evidence found at Sanders’ properties and the timeline of Richards’ disappearance, though the absence of a body presents challenges for the prosecution team.
