Cold case victim identified 16 years after body found inside burning bag on side of Troup road

TROUP COUNTY, Ga. — The Troup County Sheriff’s Office announced on Wednesday that it has identified a cold case victim who was killed over 16 years ago.

On Dec. 6, 2007, deputies found a burning black bag on the side of Whitfield Road and Stitcher Road. Inside the bag, they found a dismembered body.

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Deputies and the medical examiner’s office could only identify the victim as a Black woman and that her cause of death was homicide. The case went cold until DNA was sent to two genetic testing labs in Virginia and Texas for analysis earlier this year.

Innovative Forensic Investigations and Gene by Gene Laboratories sent back the results to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. On Wednesday, the GBI found a match.

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The Troup County Sheriff’s Office said the remains belonged to Nicole Alston, who was 24 at the time of her death. The sheriff’s office located Alston’s family who said she had moved from the Manhattan area to Atlanta in July 2006.

She disappeared shortly after her move.

Deputies will reopen their homicide investigation now that Alston has been identified. The sheriff’s office said anyone who may have information can contact them at 706-883-1616 or Crime Stoppers at 706-812-1000.

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