Williamson -- Michelle Stroud's car was found in a parking lot in Kermit. Her body would later be found stuffed in a refrigerator dumped over a hillside.
"The way the murder was perpetrated. It was a fairly brutal death," said Lonnie Hannah, Mingo County Sheriff.
Sheriff Hannah said Michelle Stroud died from gunshot wounds. He said she was shot in a wooded area near Kermit, then put in a refrigerator that was dumped in a rural area near Naugatuck. James Harden happened onto the scene while investigators were looking for clues, taking a shortcut to see a friend
"After that I didn't sleep any last night over this, not a bit," Harden said.
Michelle's husband Roger Stroud has been charged with first degree murder.
"We had questioned him earlier in the day, and after we had gathered some evidence we went back, picked him up and questioned him again. At that point he gave us his confession," Hannah said.
Stroud signed in at a guard house Monday morning. Guards say he had the refrigerator in the back of his truck, then 31 minutes later they say he signed out as he was leaving the area.
"Unusual to see a refrigerator laying flat in the bed of a truck. You have to stand them up if you want to use them later, and that's the only thing that caught all of our eyes," said John Mollette, a guard at a coal company.
Stroud is being held without bond at the Southwestern Regional Jail. Roger Stroud's next court appearance is set for Tuesday.
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