BAYTOWN, Texas – A woman is being accused of shooting her boyfriend in the head, cutting up his body with a machete and dumping him into a dumpster, police said.
Officials said Cierra Alexis Sutton, 30, has been charged with the death of Steven Coleman.
Officials said Coleman was killed on Aug. 16 at Briarwood Village Apartments in the 1700 block of James Bowie in Baytown.
Officials said Sutton shot Coleman in the head while he was sleeping after an argument. Investigators said Sutton dismembered his body with a machete because he was too heavy to carry.
Sutton wrapped Coleman’s body parts in a sheet and put them in at multiple dumpsters, including her apartment complex and land fields, according to officials.
Sutton reported Coleman as missing to police a few days later, investigators said. She told police she hadn't heard from him in days. Investigators said they suspected foul play when Coleman's two vehicles were still parked at the apartment complex.
Detectives started to suspect Sutton when she stopped returning calls and failed to show up to interviews.
Detectives learned Sutton confided to multiple people in Louisiana that she killed Coleman. After multiple interviews, Baytown and Louisiana officials teamed up to locate Sutton at an apartment complex in Metairie, Louisiana.
Sutton was arrested without incident in Louisiana and is being held in Jefferson Parish Jail.
Lt. Steve Dorris said they were able to find a torso in a land field on Aug. 22, right before Hurricane Harvey hit. Dorris said if they hadn't found the body part before the storm that it would have been hard to find with all the debris and garbage in the area.
Dorris said Sutton was "uncaring and shows no remorse" about the death of Coleman.
Investigators are still waiting on positive DNA results to confirm the torso is Coleman, but believe that it is him.
"When we investigate these cases, we have the family in mind. His mother is heartbroken," Dorris said.'
The investigation is ongoing. It is unknown if Sutton had an accomplice.
