An Ohio couple was arrested after authorities allegedly found remains of the man’s ex-girlfriend in his freezer. As in, he was storing his dead girlfriend’s body in a freezer. What’s more, police think his new girlfriend began taking over the old girlfriend’s life.
Arturo Novoa and Katrina Layton, the apparent stand-in version of Novoa’s missing girlfriend, were arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, according to BuzzFeed News. Their bond is set at $1 million. The punishment could increase if these two are found guilty of killing Shannon Graves as well as storing her body for months. This really is just too creepy.
Graves was reported missing on June 22, after her friends had not seen her since February. The police think there’s foul play involved in Graves’ death, but she hasn’t been officially identified yet. According to Graves’ sister, it was not unusual for her to disappear for a bit, as she used heroin. But it was weird for her not to talk to anyone, and this time, she left without her car, phone, or even her dog. Layton, 34, began using them as if they were hers, right after Graves left the picture. She literally used Graves’ credit cards, drove her car and took care of her dog. Layton moved in with Novoa and “started living the life of the victim,” a prosecutor told BuzzFeed News.
While Layton was basically functioning as Graves, Novoa asked his friend, Kenny Eshenbaugh, to temporarily store his padlocked freezer in his basement. Novoa, 31, told Eshenbaugh that his electricity had been cut and he didn’t want “his freezer full of meat to spoil,” which is just too disturbing to think about. Eventually, Eshenbaugh and his wife got worried about the freezer, so they broke in and found the sealed remains of a body in multiple bags, according to ABC. Needless to say, they called the police.
The official identification, motive and cause of death have yet to be revealed following the gruesome discovery of this body—and the eerie realization that Layton was an imposter.Â