Topics: Crime, Domestic Abuse, Georgia, True crime
A shocking DNA breakthrough has uncovered the mystery of an 18-year-old case, and a woman now faces murder charges.
It's been almost two decades since a burning bag stuffed with dismembered human remains was found by the side of a road in Troup County, Georgia.
Inside the bag were the partial remains of a woman whom for years has gone unidentified because her hands, feet and head were missing.
In 2023, the cold case was reopened due to advanced DNA testing which confirmed the partial remains belonged to that of Nicole Alston, a 24-year-old woman from New York.
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Now, her girlfriend at the time, Angel Marie Thompson, has been charged with her murder - after previously being charged with stealing her alleged victim's identity.
Cops uncovered Alston left NYC to start a new life with Thompson in 2007, but just 10 days before her death, had reportedly called her mom Sylvia Alston to tell her that her girlfriend had become abusive.
Yet in the years that followed, Alston still appeared to be alive, at least on paper, as prosecutors accuse Thompson of stealing her identity to commit fraud and pocket almost $139,000 in government benefits.
The accused allegedly went on to use her alleged victim's name to rent apartments, buy cars and other services, even getting arrested and sued in Alston's name, up until 2015 when the Social Security Administration tried to re-quality her.
From there, it is reported Thompson then resumed using her own name.
In August last year, she was charged with concealing Alston's death and committing years of identity fraud, but authorities struggled to link her to the murder until the DNA breakthrough.
Thompson was then booked into Fulton County Jail on August 11, where she remains without bond, with a murder warrant dated December 6, 2007, when Alston's remains were found in the bag.
In a press conference, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis called the case one of the most gruesome she's encountered in almost 30 years, adding: "This case involves what are just horrific facts.
“When they found [Alston's] body, it was cut. They found 13 pieces of her body,” Willis explained.
Troup County investigator Clay Bryant also said it took the work of a 'true sociopath' to do what happened to Alston.
He added: "It's astounding that she was able to do what she did for how long she did it.
"I've never seen something so calculated and so meticulous before but she did it very well and I believe did it alone."
The victim's grief-stricken mom, Sylvia, also said: "She didn't deserve this and I wish I'd never let her come to Georgia."
"Nicola was bubbly. She has a smile that was infectious."
"She was happy, and through all of her trials and struggles, she always made everything seem OK. She was always the one people called on to talk to," she added in a tribute to her daughter.
"I never stopped looking for her."
Officers further allege on the night of Alston's murder, Thompson was on dating websites. She also allegedly tried to rent their apartment and sell their car just a month after the murder.
DA Willis now says investigators fear there could be even more victims and is encouraging anyone with information to get in touch with the authorities.
She also revealed her office plans to have an indictment prepared by the end of October this year which includes murder, human trafficking and domestic violence charges.
