Opening statements began Thursday in the murder trial against Christopher Wolfenbarger, a Georgia man accused of killing and beheading his wife.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Wolfenberger stands accused of the murder of his wife, Melissa Wolfenberger.

Police named Wolfenberger a person of interest from the start, according to Atlanta Homicide Detective Jarion Shepard.

The last communication Melissa Wolfenbarger’s family had with her was on Thanksgiving in 1998, when she contacted them from her husband’s grandparents’ residence, as noted in a police report from that period.

The following year, in 1999, authorities discovered a human head immersed in bleach and placed inside a black garbage bag near Avon Avenue in Atlanta. The site was located behind a glass firm where Christopher Wolfenbarger had previously been employed.

Police said he didn’t report his wife missing until 2000, claiming that she left voluntarily and never returned.

A grand jury indicted Wolfenberger in 2024.

[Feature Photo: Family Handout]