TROUP COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia deputies have made an arrest in connection with a cold case murder of a woman 17 years ago. They said the suspect stole the victim’s identity and concealed her death.
On Dec. 6, 2007, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office found a burning black bag on the side of Whitfield Road and Stitcher Road. Inside the bag, they found parts of a woman’s body.
It wasn’t until Dec. 2023 that DNA evidence identified the victim as 24-year-old Nicole Alston.
On Tuesday, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Angel Marie Thompson for concealing Alston’s death.
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Channel 2′s Bryan Mims was in Troup County Tuesday, where investigators said Thompson and Alston were friends and moved to the Atlanta area in 2006. Alston disappeared sometime after Thanksgiving 2007 when her family last spoke with her.
In August, investigators uncovered that Thompson was previously wanted for identity theft and had used Alston’s identity for years after her body was found.
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The sheriff’s office said Thompson collected Alston’s social security benefits, food stamp allotment and Section 8 housing from 2007 to 2015. Investigators estimate the fraud amounts to be around $200,000.
Thompson is only charged with concealing Alston’s death.
“At this time, we can’t really say 100% if this person was the killer or not,” Sergeant Stewart Smith witt the Troup County Sheriff’s Office said. “We don’t believe the actual homicide took place in Troup County. We believe it took place somewhere else and it was just discarded there on the side of the road.”
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