FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Fulton County officials say they have made an arrest in what they are calling a "gruesome" cold case murder of a woman whose body was discovered in a burning bag on the side of a Troup County road.

For years, authorities have been trying to figure out who killed 24-year-old Nicole Alston. Now officials say they are charging her former roommate with her murder.

The backstory:

On Dec. 6, 2007, Troup County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a suspicious black bag burning at the corner of Whitfield Road and Stitcher Road. Upon arrival, they found partially burned human remains with the hands, feet, and head missing. The case remained unsolved for years.

In early 2023, the case was reviewed, and DNA evidence was sent to Innovative Forensic Investigations in

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