A Clark Atlanta University student who was found dead in DeKalb County, Ga. a week after she was reported missing was strangled by her roommate’s boyfriend, court documents released this week claim.
Two people have been arrested in the murder of Alexis Crawford, 21, whose body was discovered on Nov. 8, a spokesperson with the Atlanta Police Department tells TIME. Barron Brantley, 21, and Jordyn Jones, 21, have both since been charged with malice murder and booked at the Fulton County jail, police said. Both are being held without bond, according to Fulton County court documents obtained by TIME.
Jones was Crawford’s roommate and Brantley is Jones’ boyfriend, Atlanta police chief Erika Shields told reporters in a news conference on Nov. 8.
“The case has come to one of the saddest conclusions possible, and has been absolutely heartbreaking,” Shields said.
The criminal complaint alleges that Brantley strangled Crawford. He and Jones are then alleged to have put her body in a plastic bin, which they then took to a park in Decatur and left in the woods. A medical examiner has determined that the cause of Crawford’s death was asphyxiation, Atlanta police said Wednesday.
Brantley said he choked Crawford until she was dead during an interview with a detective on Nov. 8, the complaint says.
While police have not yet publicized a motive, Shields said that, a few days before she was reported missing, Crawford had told authorities that Brantley had assaulted her. According to a copy of the report police took from Crawford on Oct. 27,, she was drinking with Jones and Brantley before he allegedly assaulted her. Crawford was taken to a hospital to have a rape kit administered, police said.
“In this report, Alexis described unwanted kissing and touching from Barron Brantley,” Shields said during the news conference. Police recovered bedding and and a pair of underwear from the crime scene, the report said. It’s unclear what the status of the investigation is now, and whether Brantley was questioned about the alleged assault.
Crawford’s mother and two sisters said they last heard from her on the afternoon of Oct. 30, according to a copy of a missing person report they subsequently filed. The same report notes that Jones told investigators she and Crawford were not on speaking terms at this time, due to a separate, unspecified incident.
Jones told police she’d taken Crawford to a liquor store the night of Oct. 30. When they returned to their home, Jones said she and Crawford got into a physical fight. Brantley allegedly got involved in the altercation, and then strangled Crawford in the early hours of Oct. 31, according to court documents. It is unclear what led to the fight.
Attorneys for Jones and Brantley did not immediately return requests for comment. Both are scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 22.
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