MARSHFIELD, Mo. (KOLR) – A man has been taken into custody for allegedly killing his wife and storing her body in a freezer for four years, Missouri authorities confirmed Tuesday.
According to Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole, the freezer (which was fitted with a lock) was found in an abandoned storage unit that was being cleaned out on the evening of Monday, November 25th, 2019.
When the body was first discovered, Cole says deputies were unable to determine the body’s age or sex.
“They were in there for a while,” he told KOLR.
Deputies searched for an owner, and after a while set up a sting operation to catch the suspect.
The man detained during the sting operation is, according to Cole, from Marshfield, though he at one time claimed to be a truck driver from Colorado.
Once detained, Cole says, the man admitted to murdering his wife and putting her body in the freezer.
After speaking with the man, investigators believe the woman’s death came after a fight with her husband. The fight ended when he killed her with what authorities believe was a hammer.
The man also told authorities her body was originally kept at his home before he moved it to the freezer inside the storage unit, Cole said.
Cole said the woman was never reported missing. An autopsy is pending.
Charges have yet to be officially filed, though Cole said Tuesday he has spoken with prosecutors and expects those charges aren’t far away.