A Texas man is facing charges for allegedly shooting his fiancée with a shotgun and then residing with her corpse for several weeks until the odor became unbearable, prompting him to move to a motel.
According to reports from June 2, William Joseph Oddo III, aged 52, confessed to the police that after killing LaVera Wardell, he desired to “lay” with her, as reported by WTVO.
The Denton Police stated that Oddo fatally shot the 39-year-old Wardell on May 6. Approximately one week afterward, Oddo was seen buying cleaning supplies from multiple stores and was eventually discovered at a motel in Mount Pleasant.
Oddo told police that he and Wardell got into an argument on May 6 and he shot her in the head when she allegedly ran at him with a knife. He cleaned the crime scene and stayed with the body, he said, for about three days, although he was seen buying cleaning supplies a week after the murder.
Police were called to the apartment they shared on May 19 because of a foul smell and found Wardell’s body.
Oddo has been charged with first degree murder and tampering with evidence. He is being held on bonds of $160,000.
