Man 'Wanted to Lay With' Body of Fiancee He Killed Until 'Very Foul Smell' Drove Him to Flee: Police

"He wanted to lay with [her]," claim police in Denton, per an arrest affidavit seen by local Fox affiliate KDFW.

Officers were dispatched to an apartment unit on May 19 following a welfare concern call, per a press release from the department. Reporting from KDFW states that the call came in response to a "very foul smell" emanating from the apartment.

Upon arrival, police found the deceased remains of LaVera Wardell, 39. She had a traumatic injury to the head consistent with being shot. Police also recovered a shotgun at the scene, per the Denton Record-Chronicle.

She and her fiancé William Joseph Oddo III, 52, lived there together, but that's not where they found him. They also reported there was a history of domestic violence calls related to the couple.

Oddo was ultimately picked up at a hotel in Mount Pleasant, with police arresting him on a felony warrant for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. This was based on their discovery that he'd allegedly purchased and used cleaning supplies to tamper with the crime scene.

After interviewing the suspect, officers quickly obtained an additional warrant for murder, per the release. Per KDFW, Oddo allegedly told police that he shot his fiancée weeks before her body was ultimately discovered in his home.

According to a timeline allegedly provided by the suspect, and detailed in an arrest warrant affidavit, Oddo and Wardell got into an argument on May 6. He claims that the argument got physical, with Wardell charging at him with a knife.

It was in response to this, Oddo said per the affidavit, that he shot her in the head with a shotgun.

Police believe that after her death, Oddo attempted to clean the scene to prevent her body from being found. On May 13, a week after Wardell's apparent death based on Oddo's own alleged timeline, he was spotted buying various cleaning supplies at different stores.

Investigators were able to determine that the walls and floor had been cleaned of blood evidence by the time police found Wardell's body after another week had passed.

According to the arrest affidavit, Oddo admitted that he cleaned the scene, but said he did so because he "wanted to lay with" the remains of his fiancée, which he says he did "for approximately three days."

After his arrest on June 2 at a motel, he reportedly told police he'd finally left the apartment because of the smell. Witnesses reported that his car was gone from the apartment complex after May 14.

When asked why he did not call police, per the affidavit, Oddo reportedly said it was because he "did not want to talk about the incident with anyone."

Oddo is being held in Denton County Jail on a $160,000 bond.