Investigators: Remains Belong to Woman Killed Months Ago

Investigators say a woman whose remains were found in a wooden trunk inside an eastern Missouri home might have been killed more than four months ago.

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports 64-year-old Marion Gerloff's remains were found Friday afternoon by Hermann police responding to a missing person request.

A probable cause statement filed Saturday with a second-degree murder charge against Gerloff's roommate, 54-year-old Karen M. Brinkley, says investigators believe the victim was killed Feb. 1.

The probable cause statement says Brinkley confessed to strangling Gerloff

Brinkley is being held at the Crawford County jail in Steelville on $500,000 cash-only bond. Online court records indicate she has applied for a public defender and is to be arraigned on Wednesday.