The body of 42-year-old Kathleen ‘Kat’ Dawn West was found outside of her home in Calera, Alabama, a suburb outside of Birmingham.
Although authorities have classified the woman’s death as a homicide, they have not elaborated on the details of the case.
The woman was discovered by a neighbor during the morning hours of January 13 wearing only a sports bra and bleeding from her head, according to Fox 13. In addition, “A cell phone was on the ground near her that had a liquor bottle on top of it,” Crime Online reported.
West’s Facebook page showed her as a doting housewife and mother. The woman, who idolized Marilyn Monroe, also ran her own adult website which she promoted through Twitter and Instagram.
Heavy spoke with a friend of West who said the woman wasn’t leading a “double-life” as some media outlets have indicated.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Her Body Was Found Outside of the Home She Shared with Her Husband & Child
Kathleen West poses for a photo with her husband .
West was found dead outside of the home she shared with her husband and middle-school aged daughter in Calera, Alabama. The woman’s Facebook page states that she is originally from Tampa, Florida.
Police say that West’s death is being investigated as a homicide, but details of her death have not yet surfaced. On the asphalt across the street from the family’s two-story brick home, apparent blood stains could be seen.
In surveillance footage obtained by Inside Edition, which you can watch above, West was seen shopping at a liquor store, laughing and apparently in good spirits just eight hours before her body was found.
2. She Described Herself as a Family Woman, & Had Her Own Adult Website With Racy Photos Accessible Through a Paid Subscription Service
A wedding photo from West’s Facebook page.
While West’s Facebook page describes the woman as a “Full Time Wife & Mommy,” other websites, which she did not appear to hide, showed another lifestyle.
The woman had her own website on OnlyFans, where you can subscribe for $15.99 per month to see her content. According to OnlyFan’s website, the benefits to having a subscription to someone’s page are as follows:
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The site’s FAQ sections also talks about how you can earn money for running a page on the site. “Simple,” the website states. “Add your bank account and then start uploading great content! Payments are made automatically, daily, typically reaching your bank account within 48 hours.”
As to how much you can make on the site, OnlyFans stated: “Well that really depends on the quality and quantity of the content you upload. Obviously the more you post, the more incentive there is for your fans to subscribe (and remain subscribed) to your profile. Be sure to download our mobile app to ensure you can upload as much content to your fans easily and on the go!”
3. She Had Nearly 52,000 Instagram Followers & a Friend Told Heavy There Was ‘No Double-Life’ Going on
While private, West’s Instagram page shows over 52,000 followers. She appeared to use Twitter to sell clothes and other items, but also to promote her adult business.
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The twitter account appears to have taken a turn on August 11 of this year, when she tweeted: “Happy Frisky Friday – Let’s get this party started,” with a link to her OnlyFans account, along with a “wish list” where fans could purchase lingerie for her.
A friend who knew West for about two years spoke with Heavy and expressed that photos on websites “do not indicate or express a lifestyle.” She is offended by the negativity that the case is garnering, and wants the public to know her viewpoint, as someone who is a self-described “Cougar Club” member. Sandie Kay told Heavy:
I would like it to be put out there that just because she was on Cougar Club for years, it does not necessarily mean any kind of infidelity. I talked to Kat often on Instagram. I am also a Cougar Club lady. I have been happily married for 28 years with two grown daughters. I also have 44.7K followers. I do not have a Fan Page but many women do. It does not involve physical hook-ups. I am: sandielee65 on Instagram. All of us Cougar ladies are on tons of MILF and Cougar pages. Our photos do not indicate or express a lifestyle.
Her hubby with a military background and mine with a 30-year policing background was a common bond. She admired me for being ten years her senior and still looking the way I do. She admired me for being married 28 years. Her comments are all over my Instagram pics and she is absolutely delightful…high-spirited and like myself, wished the best for all fellow women. She had recently started to help promote other pretty faces, just getting an Instagram start. She would do shout-outs for them. A very selfless and lovely woman.
Regardless of how this comes out in the end, no one deserves to die like this. I assure you she was shocked as it was going down, and there was no double-life going on.
Kay also told Heavy that West had recent breast augmentation surgery, which is why she was wearing a sports bra when her body was discovered.
4. Her Mother Created a Donation Page on Facebook With an Emotional Message
West’s photos depict a happy woman who always wore a smile on her face.
Nancy C. Martin identified herself as West’s mother on a Facebook donation page for West. She talked about “negativity” surrounding her daughter’s death and is asking for help for funeral services. Martin wrote:
It seems so impossible for the extreme sadness and grief we feel as the loss of our beautiful daughter Kat to ever diminish or decease however, the Lord is our hope and our salvation, and he can turn our mourning into comfort. God wants to encourage us and relieve our sufering if we will just go to him at all times. And his word is powerful enough to bring healing and solace even during our darkest hours.
My Family ask for your prayers and support in our time of loss. My beautiful daughtrer Kat was not just my daughter but a cherised wife to Jeff, as well as a loving mother to their daughter. So much negativity is out there, but with God all I see and hear is the goodness of my Kat. My family and I ask for help in the services to lay our daughter to rest with the good Lord, to where she will be guideng her daughter and husband through this.
If you’re not able to make a donation we ask for prayers.
You may donate to the fund by clicking here.
5. No Charges Have Been Filed
At the time of publishing, no arrests had been made or charges filed.
Meanwhile, thousands have taken to Facebook groups to speculate as to what they believe may have happened.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.