A Montana woman who was reported missing weeks ago was found stuffed into a suitcase inside of a dumpster — and a man has been charged in connection with her death.
According to court documents obtained by local Montana outlets KRTV, KPAX and ABC Fox Montana, 46-year-old Alicia Wood was first reported missing on Nov. 30 after she had not been heard from for several days. Police soon began a search of her home in Conrad, Mont., and the surrounding towns.
Police eventually located her car abandoned on a nearby highway, ABC reported, and investigators found “various bloodstains described as being blood spatter on the passenger and driver’s sides … including handprints that appeared as if someone had dragged their hand across the car locking mechanism,” along with a bullet casing on the floor, according to the court documents.
By Dec. 10, KPAX reported, investigators began searching through a landfill in the nearby town of High Plains, and 29-year-old William Glenn Olson was taken into custody one day later, court records show.
The courthouse in Pondera County, Mont.
Pondera County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
Olson had first spoken to police on Dec. 2, KRTV reported, but he said that he had last seen the victim on Nov. 10 and did not know where she was. Police have not clarified the nature of Olson and Wood’s relationship, but according to the court documents, Olson had allegedly damaged Wood’s car while he was driving it before her death.
After Olson’s initial conversation with investigators, police discovered that he had several active arrest warrants, including one related to a domestic assault case, the outlets reported, citing police.
Olson was arrested and charged in connection with Wood’s death on Dec. 11, and he admitted in a second interview with detectives that he and Wood were fighting at her home when he put her in a headlock and killed her, the court documents allege, per ABC.
According to the court documents, after Wood died, Olson allegedly took a suitcase from her closet and placed her inside. Then, according to the documents, he drove to the nearby town of Great Falls and dumped the suitcase in a dumpster near an elementary school and also threw out Olson’s phone.
KPAX reported that as of Dec. 12, Wood’s body has still not been recovered, and Conrad Police Chief Cory Smith told ABC that her remains may still be in the landfill. Search crews are using drones, excavators and bulldozers to search the landfill for her body, he told the outlet.
Olson has been charged with deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence for placing her body inside the dumpster. Court records state that his bond has been set at $1,000,000.
The 29-year-old could face anywhere from 10 years to life in prison for the homicide, and as much as 10 years or a $50,000 fine for the evidence tampering.
