A man from South Dakota is facing charges after the decapitated body of his girlfriend was discovered in her apartment, with her head found separately in a trash bag. The discovery was made a day after the victim had sent a message to a friend, stating that her boyfriend had threatened her with a weapon. The accused, 32-year-old Craig Allen Nichols Jr., has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of 41-year-old Heather Ann Bodden, according to a statement from South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley.
The gruesome discovery was made last Thursday when friends of Bodden went to check on her at her apartment in Yankton, approximately 80 miles southwest of Sioux Falls. Upon entering the apartment, they found her decapitated body. A friend of the victim informed the police that she had received a text message from Bodden the previous day, stating that her boyfriend, identified as Nichols, had threatened her with a weapon. The friend had not heard from Bodden for over 24 hours.
Surveillance footage from the exterior of the apartment complex showed two men arriving at the apartment at 9:59 p.m. the night before Bodden’s body was found. The men informed investigators that they had been in the apartment using drugs with Nichols and Bodden, who was alive when they left at 11:02 p.m. on Wednesday. Additional surveillance footage showed Nichols leaving and returning to the apartment multiple times between 2:50 a.m. and 6:44 a.m. on Thursday, according to court documents.
Nichols was arrested at his own apartment, where he had barricaded himself inside. A search of his apartment revealed shoes that were wet and had a reddish-brown substance on them. At Bodden’s apartment, her head was found in a trash bag that matched the color of a bag seen in the surveillance footage. A plastic grocery bag containing bloody male clothing was also found, with a label on the underwear reading “CRAIG N.”
Three weapons were found wrapped in a floor mat in a trash bag near the bag containing Bodden’s head. Nichols requested a lawyer and declined to provide a urine sample, stating that he wished to sleep, according to the affidavit.
Bodden leaves behind a 12-year-old daughter. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover the costs of cremation and a memorial service, as well as to provide for her daughter, Lily. The page describes Bodden as a “bright spark in this world,” loved by her friends and family for her quick wit and love for her daughter and mother.
Nichols is currently being held in the Yankton County Jail with bail set at $500,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.