TROUP COUNTY, Ga. — Eighteen years after a woman’s body was discovered in bags by the side of a road, her former roommate has been arrested and charged with murder and identity theft.
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Angel Marie Thompson is currently held in the Fulton County Jail. Authorities from Troup County, Fulton County, and Sandy Springs collaborated in an attempt to bring closure to this cold case.
“It’s very gratifying, I mean, you know, to know that somebody’s finally held accountable,” Clay Bryant, an investigator with the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna.
Thompson has been charged with the murder of Nicole Alston. The woman’s body was found dismembered and burning, a discovery that haunted the community for nearly two decades.
The investigation into Alston’s death took 13 years to yield a DNA match, identifying her remains in 2023.
In 2024, authorities arrested Thompson for concealing Alston’s death after discovering she had used Alston’s identity to collect around $200,000 in social benefits.
“To do what was done to try to conceal her identity, I mean, it’s horrific,” Bryant said.
The investigation involved coordination between Sandy Springs and Fulton and Troup counties.
Thompson had her first court appearance in Fulton County, where she is now being held without bond.
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