TLDR
Prosecutors in Butte County, California, charged 52-year-old Joseph Dexter Taylor with murder, arson, and firearms offenses after burned remains, believed by investigators to be tenant Chris Kidwell, were recovered on Taylor’s rural Ricky Road property near Oroville in late March 2026.
The discovery of a burned human skull on Ricky Road in Hurleton, east of Oroville, moved quickly from a 911 call to a homicide case, with prosecutors alleging that the property owner killed and burned a man who had been living on his land.
In releases from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office and the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Taylor is charged with one count of murder, two counts of arson, and firearm-related offenses in connection with remains believed to be 33-year-old Christopher Kidwell, whose identity still awaits confirmation through DNA testing.
An Overnight Visit and a Skull
According to a March 26th, 2026, release from District Attorney Mike Ramsey, two men reported that Taylor came to their home in the early hours of March 20th, 2026, appeared agitated, talked about a cremation, and had noticeable burn marks on his legs.
The next day, those same men reported finding what they believed to be a human skull and additional skeletal remains on Taylor’s Ricky Road property and called 911, triggering a law enforcement response that shifted the incident from an unusual visit to a suspected killing.
What Investigators Say They Found
The sheriff’s office said deputies confirmed the presence of remains at the rural location, then detectives obtained a search warrant for two adjoining parcels on Ricky Road, where they recovered burned human remains along with additional physical evidence not fully described in public statements.
Investigators believe the remains are those of Kidwell, who had been living on Taylor’s property since late 2025, and whose family contacted authorities on March 20th, 2026, after a week without hearing from him; the district attorney’s press release states that “evidence indicates Kidwell was shot before Taylor burned his body.”
Charges, Custody, and Next Steps
Prosecutors note that Taylor was already being held in the Butte County Jail on an unrelated felony arrest warrant tied to a firearm offense when the murder allegations were filed, and that he is on a no-bail hold while facing separate arson cases in Lake County.
Taylor appeared in court on March 26th, 2026, and entered a not guilty plea to the new counts; he is next scheduled to appear on April 2nd, 2026, as detectives continue an investigation that has yet to publicly address motive, the location of any firearm, or the timeline of Kidwell’s final days.
The case now moves into the courts, where charging documents, motions, and testimony will determine how physical evidence and witness accounts tie Taylor to each alleged act and how his defense challenges investigators’ conclusions.
