Woman from Fulton County, Georgia, murdered and dismembered her girlfriend before setting her remains alight and stealing her identity to live off her government checks for eight years

Angel Marie Thompson, 41, is accused of killing her girlfriend Nicole Alston in 2007 and leaving her burnt remains by the side of an intersection in Troup County, GA

Thompson then 23, killed 24-year-old Alston, then assuming her partner’s identity collected almost $140,000 in government benefits, bought cars and rented apartments in Alston’s name – prosecutors

Thompson detectives said, Thompson sexually trafficked her girlfriend Nicole Alston and murdered her when she tried to leave the relationship

Thompson cops said was on dating sites within hours of dumping Alston’s body in a burning bag by the side of the highway

Break in the decades-long cold case came in 2023 after authorities sent evidence for advanced DNA testing, ultimately leading to the arrest of Thompson

She’s charged with murder and identity theft, but the prosecutor said she plans to include human trafficking charges to Thompson’s case

Angel Marie Thompson, [photo], allegedly murdered and dismembered her girlfriend in 2007, then burnt the remains before stealing her identity to live off her government checks – collecting $140,000 in govt. benefits, buying cars and renting apts in that name 

18 years after a particularly heinous killing a Georgia woman has been charged with murdering and dismembered her girlfriend before setting her remains alight, the steal the deceased woman’s identity in a scheme to live off her government checks which went on for almost a decade.
Angel Marie Thompson, 41, killed her girlfriend Nicole Alston in 2007 and leaving her burnt remains by the side of an intersection.
Troup County Sheriff’s deputies responding to a report of a suspicious black bag burning at the corner of Whitfield Road and Stitcher Road on December 6, 2007, reported finding partially burned human remains with the hands, feet, and head missing. The missing body parts have never been found.  
Prosecutors sad that after Thompson who was then 23, killed 24-year-old Alston, she assumed her partner’s identity and collected almost $140,000 in government benefits through 2015. 
She also bought cars and rented apartments in Alston’s name, according to the arrest warrants. 

Thompson sexually trafficked her girlfriend Nicole Alston [photo], and murdered her when she tried to leave the relationship – Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis

Alston’s murder, unsolved, went cold for decades as cops were unable to identify her charred remains.
The first break came in early 2023 when after authorities sent evidence for advanced DNA testing, ultimately leading to the arrest of now 41-year-old Thompson.
The remains were connected to Alston through a public genealogy test her sister had taken, with longtime investigator Clay Bryant subsequently joining the case.
In 2007 Thompson who wanted in New York at the time for theft and identity fraud, convinced her girlfriend Thompson to move to Atlanta, but their relationship turned abusive after they began living together in Fulton County, Georgia, cops said.

Nicole Alston’s remains were found in a burning bag at the side of a Georgia highway in 2007, burnt beyond recognition. Identification made possible 16 years later in 2023, through advanced DNA testing in early 2023

Thompson sexually trafficked her girlfriend and murdered her when she tried to leave the relationship, Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis said.
According to the arrest warrant, investigators believe Thompson who was abusive to her girlfriends killed Alston because she wanted to return to New York, which would have been a problem for the suspect due to her outstanding warrants.
Willis added that Alston’s case was one of the most gruesome investigations she has ever seen. 
‘There was no way to identify her,’ she said. 
The prosecutor was joined by Alston’s mother Sylvia Austin, who grew emotional as she said she, ‘wished I never let her come to Georgia’.
‘She didn’t deserve this,’ the grieving mother said. 

After the murder cops said, Thompson used Alston’s name to open bank accounts, acquire a driver’s license, receive housing assistance and Social Security benefits. Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis holds up Alston’s photo, announcing the arrest this week

Thompson was on dating sites within hours of Alston’s body being in a burning bag by the side of the highway, Sandy Springs Detective John Nanoff said.
He added that Thompson then used Alston’s name to open bank accounts, acquire a driver’s license, receive housing assistance and get Social Security benefits. 
Nanoff said that he was stunned by the ‘meticulous’ alleged murder. 
‘It’s astounding that she was able to do what she did for how long she did it,’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen something so calculated.’ 

‘She didn’t deserve this’ – Nicole Alston’s mother Sylvia Austin, [photo], was emotional at a press conference as she said she ‘wished I never let [her daughter] come to Georgia’

Detectives said that they believe Alston was killed inside the couple’s apartment.
DNA testing reportedly found large quantities of blood evidence even 17 years after Alston’s death. 
Thompson initially was booked on a single charge of concealing the death of another, after prosecutors said she had been collecting Alston’s government checks for years. She was released on bond two years later.
Police this week revealed that that they believed she was responsible for Alston’s death at the time, but did not have enough evidence to charge her.
She is currently charged with murder and identity theft, but the prosecutor said she plans to include human trafficking charges to Thompson’s case and will present the case to a grand jury by the end of October.