Former Madera High athlete arrested and accused of killing teen girl found in a field

Months after a 16-year-old girl’s body was found in a Madera County field, detectives have made an arrest in connection with her alleged killing, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday.

Codi Slayton was taken into custody on Tuesday and booked into the Madera County Department of Corrections on charges of first-degree murder, according to sheriff’s officials. His bail has been set at $1 million.

Slayton, 19, is accused of killing Josephine Jimenez after using various social media platforms to generate and maintain contact with her, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Slayton, who lived in Oceanside at the time of his arrest, is a former Madera High School football player and wrestler, according to Fresno Bee archives.

Josephine’s body was found Oct. 22, 2019 at a rural agricultural property in the southern part of the county. She had been reported missing by her family.

Madera County detectives said they were contacted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service after Josephine’s body was found. They believed Slayton was connected to her death.

Slayton, who was interviewed by detectives in December, was arrested on an unrelated charge by the NCIS. Upon more investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said they took Slayton into custody Thursday.

Detectives said Slayton used social media to talk to young girls throughout California, and possibly the United States. Anyone who had online communication with Slayton is asked to call detectives at 559-232-8753 or to report anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867 or by visiting valleycrimestoppers.org.

This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Former Madera High athlete arrested and accused of killing teen girl found in a field."