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1:21 a.m. • 2-12-12

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Police Arrest Teen in Fremont Woman's Death


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Wayne County investigators have made an arrest in the brutal killing of a prominent local woman on the same day friends and relatives laid her to rest. Mollie Ellis' badly burned body was found Tuesday in woods near her home.

An arrest was made, but there are indications there may have been at least one other suspect involved, although investigators will neither confirm nor deny that. Overall, police are releasing very little information about the case.

Friday morning, officers announced that they had arrested 18-year-old Tyrone Yelverton of Fremont and charged him the murder of Ellis, 76, the mother of a retired local judge. Yelverton, whom police say has confessed to the crime, was first brought in for questioning Tuesday, the day Ellis' body was found. He was apprehended Wednesday for an unrelated probation violation. He was not charged with Ellis' murder until Friday.

Wayne County Sheriff Carey Winders says Ellis was taken from her house to another site where she was assaulted and killed.

Ellis' body was moved from the trailer. It was found behind a dumpster along a dirt road in Fremont.

Winders made it clear that the investigation is ongoing, but would not give the exact time of the crime, nor would he say if there was a weapon involved. There was also no word as to how Ellis was assaulted or what the motive might have been.

Winders says Yelverton was on probation for breaking and entering. He is currently being held in the Wayne County jail without bond.

Investigators say Yelverton has shown little or no remorse for the crime. Yelverton's parents say they don't believe their son committed the crime.

  • Reporter: Len Besthoff
  • Photographer: Keith Baker
  • Web Editor: MJ Ainsley

RELATED TOPICS: Wayne County

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