Traci Melvin Wilemon, 50, was killed in her Altoona, Alabama, home on December 24, 2020. Her 32-year-old boyfriend, Ace Antonio Pierre Belcher, first called police saying an argument had turned physical and that he had found Wilemon lifeless. Responding officers found the scene unusual and requested investigators from the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies obtained a search warrant and processed the home into Christmas Day.

Under further scrutiny, Belcher admitted to killing Wilemon and to attempting to burn her remains to conceal the crime. He was arrested on charges of murder and abuse of a corpse and held without bond. An autopsy by the Alabama Department of Forensic Science was scheduled to determine the precise cause of death.

If anyone has information about Traci Wilemon, her movements on December 24, 2020, or anything seen near the Altoona residence that day, please come forward.