An Illinois man admitted to lining a bathroom with plastic shower curtains before using an electric saw in the heinous slaughtering of his girlfriend, whose body has never been found.
In a last-minute plea deal Friday, Troy Slaw, 47, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the death of Norma Crutchfield at a home in Decatur, Illinois. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop the dismemberment and concealment of remains charges, WAND-TV and the Herald & Review reported.
Slaw faces up to life in prison.
Crutchfield's mother first reported her daughter missing in November 2020 after not hearing from her for a week. She said her daughter and Slaw had an abusive relationship.
The investigation led detectives to interview alleged co-conspirator Chase Freeman, who alleged Slaw asked him to come over to his home. When Freeman arrived, Slaw showed him Crutchfield's dead body concealed in his closet.
Freeman alleged Slaw "told him that he had stabbed the woman in the chest and killed her," Law & Crime reported, citing the criminal complaint. Freeman allegedly stated Slaw "had lined the bathroom with shower curtains, window curtains and plastic."
Slaw asked Freeman to help him dismember the body with an electric saw, but Freeman allegedly refused, and instead, stood guard outside the home.
The next day, Freeman allegedly helped Slaw clean up the blood spatter in the bathroom and dispose of two trash bags filled with Crutchfield's body parts into a large garbage can.
Authorities never recovered Crutchfield's remains.
Freeman's disposition hearing is set for Sept. 5.
