United States solider accused of killing former Mary-Hardin Baylor football player

A U.S. Army staff sergeant stationed at Fort Cavazos has been charged with murder in connection to the shooting death of a Killeen man in February.

Staff Sgt. Marlone L. Best is accused of fatally shooting 28-year-old Larry Kidd Jr. on February 17, 2024, according to the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.

On that evening around 8 p.m., the Killeen Police Department received a report of a shooting on the 900 block of W. Central Texas Expressway. The victim, later identified as Kidd, was transported to the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries. An autopsy was ordered by the police.

At the time, one individual was taken into custody, but their identity was not released.

It wasn’t until August 12 that Best was court-martialed and formally charged with premeditated murder, as reported by the special counsel. He is expected to be arraigned soon, with a military judge to schedule the pre-trial hearings and the trial.

It is believed that Kidd Jr.’s ex-wife was dating Best. The family of Kidd Jr. believe that she had something to do with the murder.

Kidd’s obituary notes that he was a husband and father of three. He graduated from Killeen High School in 2013 and played football at both Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton and Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico.