She Was Found Decapitated and Left in Trash Bags in 1999. Police Just Arrested Her Husband

Melissa Wolfenbarger's mother last heard from her daughter months before her remains were found

An Atlanta man has been charged with his wife’s murder — 25 years after her body was found in multiple trash bags.

In April and June 1999, human remains were found in separate locations in Atlanta, Ga., and were misidentified, Atlanta police Lt. Andrew Smith said at a press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 7. 11Alive reported that the remains were found in trash bags, and the victim had been decapitated.

Melissa Wolfenbarger had last been in contact with her mother on Thanksgiving Day 1998, the outlet reported. Her mother, Norma Patton, reported her missing in January 2000, Smith said. Melissa’s husband, Christopher Wolfenbarger, never did.

Finally, in 2003, Melissa’s remains were properly identified. But it would take another 21 years until someone was arrested in connection with her murder.

During the investigation, The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported that police learned early in the investigation that Melissa hadn’t been in contact with her husband since December 1998. In 2000, according to reports from the Journal-Constitution and 11Alive, Wolfenbarger allegedly told police that he had seen Melissa walking down the street in March or April of 1999.

Christopher was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 6, police said, and charged with murder. He is currently in custody in Fulton County Jail, online records indicate.

During the press conference, police did not say what led them to arrest Christopher, citing the integrity of the investigation. Det. Jarion Shephard said during the press conference that after he took over the investigation in 2021, witnesses were reinterviewed and evidence was reexamined, but he declined to single out a specific piece of evidence. The detective also noted that Christopher was considered a person of interest from the beginning.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Shephard said he did not know the specific motive, but said he believed the case was domestic violence-related. Christopher was found hiding behind a dryer in his home when he was arrested, according to Shephard.

Melissa’ mother and sister appeared alongside police during the announcement and spoke to reporters.

“Finally, hopefully, we can get justice for Melissa,” Tina Patton said. “Melissa didn’t deserve what she got.”

Tina and Norma said that they never heard from Christopher during the period when Melissa was missing and the subsequent years after her remains were identified.

Norma said that in the summer of 1998, Melissa had briefly moved in with her before going back to Christopher that same year.

”She loved her kids, and there’s no way on this earth that she would leave them,” Norma said. “That’s why she went back to him. That’s why she kept going back to him.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.