Thursday, May 20, 2010

Hokes Bluff, AL: Hokes Bluff man charged with murder of girlfriend found beaten, duct taped and stuffed in duffel bag

By Carol Robinson -- The Birmingham News
May 20, 2010, 2:40PM

Monica M. Payne was found dead and stuffed in a duffel bag on May 19, 2010, in Hokes Bluff. (Special/Etowah County Sheriff's Office)

Jeremy W. Grissom is charged with the murder of Monica Payne. (Special/Etowah County Sheriff's Office)
Etowah County authorities today formally charged a Hokes Bluff man with murder and abuse of a corpse in the slaying of his girlfriend.
Jeremy Wayne Grissom, 25, is being held in the Etowah County Jail on $1 million bond.
He is charged in the death of 28-year-old Monica Michelle Payne, 28, who was found Wednesday evening in the home the two shared on Clinton Street in Hokes Bluff.
Her body was discovered after one of Grissom's family members called 911 just before 7 p.m., said sheriff's spokeswoman Natalie Barton.
At a press conference held today by Etowah County sheriff's and district attorney officials and Hokes Bluff police, authorities said Payne was severely beaten, and likely died from blunt force trauma to the head. An autopsy is under way.
Investigators said it appears the death was a domestic violence incident that escalated to murder.
Grissom is charged with abuse of a corpse because he wrapped Payne's body multiple times in plastic and duct tape and then put the body in a duffel bag while he cleaned the house.
"The event that occurred yesterday is a shock to our community," Hokes Bluff Police Chief Mitchell Hill said in a statement. "We read about these incidents and think it won't happen in our community. It was a very sad day for us all."

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