Nearly two decades after a bag stuffed with dismembered human remains was discovered burning along a road outside of Atlanta, the woman once suspected in the case has now been charged with what authorities described as a “gruesome” murder.
Angel Marie Thompson had been previously charged with concealing the death of her 24-year-old girlfriend Nicole Alston and stealing her identity. Now, Thompson is charged with her murder, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced at a news conference Wednesday.
Willis called the case one of the most gruesome she’s ever seen in her 29 year career.
“This case involves what are just horrific facts,” she said.
Thompson was booked into Fulton County Jail on Monday, with a murder warrant dated December 6, 2007, the same day Alston’s partial remains were found inside a burning black bag dumped along a road in Troup County, Georgia.
“When they found her body, it was cut. They found 13 pieces of her body,” Willis said, adding the reason they were not able to identify her immediately was because her hands, feet, and head were missing.
The case was cold for years. In 2023, it was reopened after advanced DNA testing confirmed the remains belonged to Alston.
Investigators learned that Alston had left New York in 2007 with her girlfriend, Angel Marie Thompson, to start a new life in Atlanta, Willis confirmed on Wednesday.
In the years after the killing, Alston appeared — at least on paper — to still be alive. Prosecutors allege that following her death, Thompson assumed Alston’s identity, collecting more than $200,000 in government benefits and using her name to secure housing and services until 2015, when the Social Security Administration tried to re-qualify her for benefits. It was then that Thompson reportedly resumed using her own name.
In August 2024, Thompson was charged with concealing Alston’s death and committing years of identity fraud in her name. However, authorities were not able to connect her to the murder.
On Wednesday, DA Willis revealed that Alston’s mother, Sylvia Alston, had received a call from her daughter just 10 days before the killing. Alston told her that her girlfriend, Thompson, had become abusive and that she wanted to come home.
“She didn't deserve this and I wish I'd never let her come to Georgia,” Alston’s mother said through tears at the press conference. She described Alston as bubbly, artistic and the life of the party.
“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,” Sylvia Alston said.
She went on to explain that her daughter Nicole was a very trusting person and that she believes this is what led to being taken advantage of by Thompson. Sylvia Alston also noted that her daughter struggled with dyslexia and often was dependent on others.
“I never stopped looking for her,” Sylvia Alston added.
Authorities said that the night Alston’s body was found, Thompson was on dating websites looking for people to talk to. A month later, she was reportedly trying to rent the apartment they had shared, and was also trying to sell their car.
Willis said investigators believe there may be more victims and encouraged anyone who might have information from around that time to come forward.
She said her office plans to have an indictment by the end of October and that it will include murder, human trafficking, and domestic violence charges.
Thompson remains in custody at the Fulton County Jail without bond.
Troup County investigator Clay Bryant said on Wednesday that it took a “true sociopath” to do what happened to Alston.
“They deserve some finality,” he added about Alston’s family. “They deserve the truth, and we're just lucky enough to find some facts to learn what happened to Nicole.”
