Pantsless Home Invader Tracked to Her House Where Fiance's Head Was 'Almost Off the Body': Prosecutors

Alyssa Roman, 31, pleaded no contest on July 16 in the shooting death of Alan Critser, 33, at their shared home in Omaha on December 29, 2023. She admitted to the shooting even though she'd previously told police she had no recollection of it, and grew distraught when she found out he was dead, per court documents reviewed by Law&Crime.

She did, however, remember taking drugs, according to police. She allegedly told them she'd taken "LSD" at about noon on the day of her fiancé's death. The rest of the story, investigators had to piece together through a string of evidence -- and an unlikely starting point.

Officers with the Omaha Police Department were first called to the area where Roman and Critser lived at around 4 p.m. for a report of a "home invasion" in progress at a different residence. According to those witnesses in the arrest affidavit for Roman, "a white female with pink hair wearing only a shirt and no pants" had forced her way into their home and "had to be forcibly removed."

In a judge's order related to the case, it was noted that police thought it "odd" the woman would have no pants on "as it was cold outside, and there was snow on the ground."

The witnesses were able to offer both a physical description of the suspected home invader, as well as her "path of travel" after they managed to get her out of their home, per the document. Police traced the route and then observed someone matching the given description inside the home of Roman and Critser "through an uncovered window."

When police knocked on the door, according to the affidavit, the woman matching the description "fled out of the back door." Officers were able to subdue and apprehend their suspect, who they described as "displaying signs of excited delirium."

The woman, later identified as Roman, was transported to a local hospital for observation. A judge's order in the case said that at first she "appeared confused as to where she was, why she was there, and how she got there."

A bit later, per the order, the woman became more coherent and "asked if her fiancé was present, and was curious as to whether something happened, or if she hurt somebody." The document states that police asked her no questions while she was at the hospital.

Due to the suspect fleeing and her observed state when apprehended, officers reported that they conducted a "safety sweep" of the residence she was found in -- which is when they found a far more serious situation.

The arrest affidavit states that officers observed "apparent blood on the walls, along with suspected skull and brain matter in the hallway at the top of the main staircase." As they continued to move through the house, they ultimately found the victim in the upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. Prosecutors stated his head was "almost off the body," per WBIW.

A shotgun was found in another bedroom in the house with "women's pants and underwear apparel placed over the tip of the shotgun's barrel," per the affidavit.

In a post-Miranda interview after her release from a hospital -- with Law&Crime noting this was more than 12 hours after the time she claimed to have taken "LSD," with testing proved she had taken drugs -- Roman gave what police called incriminating statements, such as when she told them Critser "did not shoot himself" and that "they were the only two individuals present in the residence at the time the homicide occurred."

They reported that she made additional incriminating statements throughout the interview. At the same time, she reportedly "professed not to remember anything after she and her fiancé had a conversation about past trauma."

In the recorded interview, per the judge's order, Roman "did not appear to be intoxicated, and was relaxed and comfortable, until she was informed that her fiancé was deceased -- then she became hysterical, but calmed down after awhile."

Roman's sentencing is set for September.