Woman Gets Children to Help Dispose of Husband's Mutilated Body, Police Say

An Indiana woman has been accused of murdering her husband and roping in her two children to help dispose of his body.

Prosecutors allege that Thessalonica Allen, 34, shot Randy Allen inside their home in La Porte on July 27, the South Bend Tribune reported.

According to court documents, the two children told investigators they ran to their mother's bedroom after hearing a "loud bang" that night.

In the bedroom, the children—who are both under 16— said they found Randy Allen lying on the floor. He asked them to call 911, but their mother told them to go back to their room, the court papers say.

The children also told investigators they were later awakened by their mother, who asked them to help drag Randy Allen's body out of the house and into a vehicle. They were unable to move the body because it was too heavy, the children said.

According to the court documents, the children told police that Thessalonica Allen came home the next day with an axe and cleaning supplies.

She later asked them to help her place Randy Allen's body into a tote, the court documents alleged. The body had been dismembered, but was still too heavy for them to move into the vehicle, the children told investigators.

They also claimed their mother planned to drive the body to South Bend and set it on fire.

WBND-LD reported that the police were alerted by Thessalonica Allen's former partner, who told officers she had asked him for help moving the body.

The man, who was not named, said she had called him to say Randy Allen was hurting the child they have together, the TV station reported.

When he arrived, he said Thessalonica Allen showed him Randy Allen's body in a closet. The man said he refused to help and asked her to take him back to Michigan.

During the drive, the man said Thessalonica Allen told him she had shot her husband because he was beating her and the children, WBND-LD reported.

When they arrived in Michigan, the man said she had thrown a gun out of the vehicle, which he had kept and then called 911.

When La Porte police apprehended and interviewed Thessalonica Allen, she said she had shot Randy Allen after an argument had escalated into a physical altercation and he had started choking her. The dispute started after her children told her he had beaten them, she added.

Prosecutors allege, however, that the children had heard the couple arguing about a website their mother had visited, just before the gunshot.

Police found Randy Allen's body in the tote, inside a closet belonging to Thessalonica Allen's daughter.

On Monday, Thessalonica Allen was charged with murder, abusing a corpse, altering a death scene, contributing to the delinquency of children and neglect.

She is being held in La Porte County Jail without bond. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Friday, when she is expected to enter a plea.

Newsweek has contacted La Porte Police for comment.