A South Dakota man has been charged with murder and manslaughter after police say he killed and beheaded a woman in her apartment.
Craig Allen Nichols Jr., 32, was arrested in Yankton, South Dakota, after three women called the police on January 2 to report that they had found their friend, 41-year-old Heather Ann Bodden, dead with her head severed... Continue reading here ▶
According to court documents, the Yankton police arrived at Bodden’s apartment around 3:30 p.m. and found her body without a head inside.
One of the women told police that Bodden had texted her on January 1, saying that her boyfriend, Nichols, had been threatening her with a weapon. After not hearing from Bodden for over a day, the women went to her apartment to check on her.
Security footage from Bodden’s apartment complex showed Nichols and two other men entering the apartment on January 1 around 10 p.m. The two men later told police that the group used drugs and that Bodden was alive when they left around 11 p.m. Nichols was then seen on camera returning to the apartment multiple times between 2:50 a.m. and 6:45 a.m., carrying trash bags out of the building.
When police searched the apartment, they found a trash bag containing Bodden’s head, bloody clothing belonging to Nichols, and three weapons wrapped in a floor mat. A search of Nichols’ apartment also revealed shoes with blood on them. Nichols refused to provide blood and urine samples after his arrest.
Nichols is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and two counts of contempt of court. He is scheduled to appear in court on January 8.
Bodden’s family has shared their grief on a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for her funeral and to support her young daughter, Lily. “Heather was a bright spark in this world,” her sister-in-law wrote. “She loved her daughter to the ends of the earth, and her mom, Pat, was her best friend. Pat and Heather’s stepdad, Sherman, will now care for Lily.”
Bodden is survived by her parents, daughter, siblings, and many loved ones.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org. All calls are free, confidential, and available 24/7 in over 170 languages.
