Melissa Nicole Murray, 33, was killed in Lansing on the night of February 1 into the early hours of February 2, 2021. Police say Cory Dean Coddington, 40, entered a Mahlon Street residence where Murray was present and shot her in the head with a long gun. Her family reported her missing on February 28, 2021, and an anonymous tip also alerted police to a killing at that address.

Investigators allege Coddington and an accomplice, Daniel Lawrence Dutton, removed Murray’s body and the couch she had been sitting on, took them to Isabella County, then burned and buried the remains. A piece of human skull found at the Mahlon Street home was later matched to Murray. GPS data from an electronic monitoring tether Coddington was wearing placed him at the house during the shooting and later at the burial site; Murray’s remains were located on March 24, 2021.

Coddington was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and felony firearm possession; he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 to 60 years in prison under plea terms that set a 20-year minimum. Dutton was charged as an accessory after the fact and received probation for lying during a violent crime investigation. Does anyone have information about Murray’s time at the Mahlon Street residence or saw activity in Isabella County around early March 2021?