Remains of missing woman found in Marion County; husband died in police shootout in December

MARION COUNTY, Mo. – The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that the body of Britney D. Hoffman-Kelly was found Thursday in rural Marion County.

Hoffman-Kelly was reported missing on Dec. 19, 2024 after last being seen in St. Charles with her husband, Chadwick Kelly, on Dec. 14.

Chadwick Kelly had been released from the Illinois Department of Corrections in July after serving nine-and-a-half years of a 23-year sentence for home invasion with a firearm. On the afternoon of Dec. 20, he was holding a woman in the residence against her will in a home in LaBelle, but the woman held captive in the residence was not his wife.

The female victim eventually escaped from the residence and had visible injuries. Chadwick Kelly died during a gunfight with law enforcement later that night.

Law enforcement officials said at the time they were considering Hoffman-Kelly’s case a homicide even though a body was not yet accounted for.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Quincy Police Department, St. Charles Police Department, Hannibal Police Department, and Missouri State Highway Patrol worked together in the investigation. While officials say the investigation remains open, they also believe there is no immediate public threat associated with the case.