Man, who admitted to repeatedIy punching the mother of his chiIdren when she stopped breathing, claims Ieaving her body on the fIoor for days and not caIIing 911 was his brother’s girIfriend’s idea while telling his chiIdren that their mom was sIeeping: police

Kentucky – A Kentucky man was arrested in connection with the death of his spouse, J. AIjic after authorities responding to a vehicIe fire early last week discovered human remains inside the vehicIe, according to law enforcement reports. The defendant, 31-year-old SaIko, has been charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse in the case. Another person, 44‑year‑old SheIIy, was also arrested and faces charges of tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse for her alleged role in the incident.

The Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting a vehicIe on fire. Firefighters responding to the scene found the sedan fully engulfed in flames. After the fire was extinguished, deputies located a body on the passenger side floorboard of the vehicle. Initial examination by the state medical examiner’s office indicated the victim had no soot in her lungs, suggesting she was already deceased before the car was set on fire. The vehicle itself was determined to have been intentionally set abIaze.

Investigators soon identified the victim as 31‑year‑old J. AIjic, who had been residing in the area after recently moving from Missouri, where a protective order against her spouse had been filed, according to court testimony. Detectives learned the burned vehicle was registered to the victim and used license plate reader data to trace the vehicle’s movements in the hours leading up to the fire.

Deputies executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence. the 44-year-old co-defendant and his brother’s girIfriend, SheIIy (SEE PHOTO), answered the door and initially denied that the man  was present. Law enforcement soon found the defendant hiding inside and took him into custody. During initial questioning, he denied knowing the victim’s whereabouts and claimed he had last seen her in November.

During the search of the home, investigators found a bag containing clothing hidden in a kitchen cabinet. Detectives testified that the clothing matched what the defendant was seen wearing in surveillance footage taken shortly before the burning car was found. They also discovered three pillows in a washing machine that appeared to be stained with blood.

The 44-year-old woman eventually spoke with detectives, admitting she was present in the home and witnessed an incident of domestic violence between the man and his spouse. She told investigators that she heard the man beating the victim and that after the confrontation, the victim’s body had been left on the kitchen floor for three days. During that time, he reportedly told the couple’s three children that their mother was “sIeeping,” and no attempt was made to seek medical help or contact law enforcement.

According to SheIIy’s statement to police, she periodically left the home to obtain food and other items but remained at the residence due to an ongoing domestic issue with her own partner and said she was afraid for her life following the alleged kiIIing. The woman also told police that she obtained a can of gasoline, and she and her co-defendant drove the sedan containing the victim’s body to a ruraI area, court documents state. The woman told detectives the defendant first tried to push the vehicIe over a nearby cliff with the body inside, but when that failed, he poured gasoline over the vehicle and ignited a rag to start the fire.

The man was brought to the local police department headquarters for further interview by the Sheriff’s Office detectives. A detective testified that during his interview, he admitted he and the victim had argued and that he struck her, after which she stopped breathing. He also claimed that leaving the body in the home and not calling 911 was SheIIy’s idea, saying it was her suggestion not to seek help, to buy the gasoline, and to set the fire. He also claimed that the victim was still alive when the car was ignited, a statement at odds with the medical examiner’s finding regarding the lack of soot in her lungs.

Kentucky authorities have not yet publicly released a final determination of the precise cause of the victim’s death, as a forensic anthropologist and the state medical examiner’s office continue to analyze the remains. The couple’s three children, who were in the home at the time of the alleged killing and subsequent days, have been placed with the victim’s family members in Missouri and are expected to be interviewed by detectives as part of the ongoing investigation.

The 31-year-old man remains in the county regional jail under a cash bond set at $1 million. The 44-year-old woman is also in jail with her bond set at $50,000. The case has been sent to a grand jury for possible indictment on the charges, and the investigation into all aspects of the victim’s death continues as law enforcement gathers additional evidence.