Woman Chopped Up 'Cash Cow' Girlfriend Who Tried to Leave, Then Lived as Her for Years: DA

Now, they're pointing the finger at the victim's girlfriend at the time, Angel Thompson (above left). She'd been arrested already in 2024 for allegedly concealing the victim's death and stealing her identity to rake in tens of thousands of dollars from government programs. Now, she's accused of killing her, too.

Thompson was booked into Fulton County Jail on Monday, with a murder warrant dated the same day the remains were found. She is being held without bond.

Troup County Sheriff's deputies first became involved on December 6, 2007 when they received word of a suspicious black bag on fire on a street corner in Hogansville. Inside the bag, they recovered multiple body parts.

"They found 13 pieces of her body, but they were not able to identify her," said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis at a press conference on Wednesday. "The reason that they were not able to identify her is because, until this day, we still have not been able to find her hands, her feet, or her head."

Describing the case as "gruesome," Willis told reporters per The Independent, "This case involves what are just horrific facts."

It wasn't until DNA evidence was sent to labs in Virginia and Texas in 2023 for advanced testing that authorities were finally able to put a positive ID on the remains. The victim was Nicole Alston, 24 (above right), who had recently -- as of 2007 -- moved to Atlanta, Georgia from Manhattan, New York with Thompson "to start her life," per Willis.

According to Willis, forensic genealogy connected their victim to an Ancestry.com search conducted by the victim's sister, which is what helped lead them to Alston's identity.

The victim's mother, Sylvia Alston, was also on hand Wednesday, telling reporters that her daughter "came to Georgia with this person who told her she was going to help her. Nicole said, 'She's going to help me. I'm going to be okay.'"

Prior to Alston's disappearance 18 years ago, she had been living with Thompson in a relationship that Willis described as troubled. Sylvia said that her daughter told her at the time that Thompson had become "abusive" toward her.

"She wanted to come home," Willis said in the press conference, "but said she had it under control. That was her last phone call."

With a victim and a possible suspect, investigators began digging into possible motives. They discovered that Thompson had warrants for theft and identity fraud in New York, according to Atlanta News First, and was worried about moving back there. They also believe she was concerned about losing Alston -- as Alston was the primary financial provider in their household.

"This involves classic domestic violence, where the young lady was basically not going to allow both her lover — and I hate to say such a nasty term — but really 'cash cow,' the person that was bringing her money, to go," said Willis. "And it ended tragically."

The manner of Alston's death was determined as "homicidal violence by undetermined means," per officials. But the story didn't end with the victim's death and dismemberment. An extensive paper trail uncovered through the course of the investigation revealed that Thompson allegedly started using Alston's identity.

At first, per police, she assumed Alston's identity to sell her car and rent out her apartment. By the time police found the victim's burning remains, investigators discovered, Thompson was "already on dating websites, trying to meet people, rent the room, sell the car."

Investigators alleged that Thompson opened e-mail accounts and bank accounts in Alston's name, and used her identity to steal her benefits from the government. "She did it very well and I believe did it alone," said a police detective at the press conference.

"It's beyond the pale of what it took to do this," said Troup County Sheriff’s Investigator Clay Bryant. "It took a true sociopath."

Ultimately, investigators believe that Thompson took in $60,000 from social security, $17,000 in food stamps, and $60,000 in HUD housing assistance, all through Alston's identity. Local NBC affiliate WXIA reports the total, including non-specified benefits, ran to more than $200,000, and included Thompson allegedly using Alston's name to secure housing and services, with all of it only ending when the Social Security Administration tried to re-qualify Alston for benefits in 2015.

One detective, who said he'd never seen anything so "calculated and meticulous" as this, per the outlet, said that when Alston's driver's license came up for renewal in 2010, Thompson went through with it, and even replaced Thompson's photo with her own.

Willis is convinced that Thompson wasn't just interested in this one "cash cow." At the conference, she said, "Immediately after this young lady went missing and we now know is deceased, the suspect was trying to recruit other victims. We believe this ties directly to trafficking other women."

Willis hopes that this case will help lead to other possible victims that may have encountered Thompson in the years since Alston's death, according to WXIA.

"We are going to take our time so that we can put together an indictment correctly," Willis said, "but it will involve human trafficking, as well as this murder because we believe that this victim was trafficked prior to her murder." An indictment is expected by the end of October, per The Independent.

"She didn't deserve this, and I wish I had never let her come to Georgia," Sylvia said of her daughter on Wednesday. She called her bubbly, artistic, and the life of the party through tears. "She was happy, and through all of her trials and struggles, she always made everything seem okay."

She went on to say that Nicole was a very trusting person, which she thinks is why she was allegedly taken advantage of by Thompson. "I never stopped looking for her," she said.