Mar 5, 2007, 23:31 GMT
Washington - A Michigan man has admitted to murdering and then dismembering his 34-year-old wife, who was the mother of two children, officials said Monday.
Stephen Grant, 37, had confessed to the murder after weeks of denying his involvement, according to media remarks.
His wife, Tara Grant, was in a physical struggle with Grant before she was strangled several weeks ago near her home in suburban Detroit's Macomb County, according to county Medical Examiner Dr Daniel Spitz.
The body parts were found 'in a wooded area' near her home, and some parts were missing due to 'animal activity,' Spitz said.
While the 'goal was to recover any and all remains that exist,' Spitz said he was 'not in need of additional remains' to determine how she died.
Spitz said Tara Grant's remains bore evidence of 'blunt force injuries' indicative of a fight, especially on her head and face.
The killer had dismembered his wife after killing her, and distributed pieces of her body in a forested area. He brought her torso back to the garage of his house, however, according to the Detroit News.
A relative of the victim said in broadcast remarks that they were 'horrified' by how her life was taken, and by the affect her gruesome murder will have on the lives of her two young children as they grow up.
The husband was tracked to a park in Northern Michigan some 360 kilometres away from the scene of the crime. He was treated for hypothermia at a hospital and was shown in televised images dressed in a black and white striped prison outfit, being taken to the Macomb County jail to face murder charges.
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