Minnesota man accused of slaying wife, hiding body in home’s crawl space

A Minnesota man is accused of killing his wife and hiding her body in the crawl space of their home before calling police to report her missing, authorities said.

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Joshua Fury, 28, of Maple Grove, was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Maria Pew Fury, 28, KMSP reported. Joshua Fury is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday, and Hennepin County prosecutors plan to ask for $2 million bail, the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis reported.

Maria Fury, was reported missing from her suburban Minneapolis home Thursday, according to WCCO. Her body was found Saturday afternoon, the television station reported.

According to a criminal complaint, Joshua Fury said he returned home from work Thursday and could not find his wife, although her cellphone was still in the house, the Star-Tribune reported.

Police searched the home for two hours but did not find anything suspicious, KMSP reported.

After speaking with Maria Fury’s friends and family members on Friday, authorities returned Saturday to the Fury residence with a search warrant and a K-9 unit, the television station reported.

The dogs alerted officers to human remains in the crawl space on the lower level of the home. The area had a dirt floor covered in plastic, and after obtaining another search warrant, officials began to excavate the area, the Star-Tribune reported. It took several hours to recover the woman’s body, the newspaper reported.

According to charging documents, Maria Fury’s cause of death is believed to be asphyxiation from a plastic bag taped over her head and nose, WCCO reported. After allegedly blaming her disappearance on an old boyfriend, Joshua Fury told police the couple had a fight Thursday morning “in which he strangled her and then put the plastic over her face,” court documents revealed.

Fury’s parents, Lissa Weimelt and Bill Pew announced their daughter’s death “with broken hearts” in a statement.

“She was our joy, light and treasure. As our family honors Maria’s memory, and the immense joy that she brought to us all, we encourage you to focus on all the positive in the world,” Maria Fury’s parents said. "Love your babies as we loved our Maria. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.”

Cox Media Group