A woman has been charged in the 2007 killing of a girlfriend whose dismembered body was placed in a bag and set on fire, officials said Wednesday in the latest of a series of cold case breakthroughs in recent months.

Angel Marie Thompson, 41, faces charges of murder and two counts of identify theft in the death of 24-year-old Nicole Alston. Investigators say they believe Alston was killed nearly 18 years ago before her smoldering remains were dumped at a Troup County intersection.

In the years that followed, detectives say Thompson assumed her partner’s identity, taking nearly $140,000 in government benefits through 2015. She also rented apartments and bought cars in Alston’s name, arrest warrants allege.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced the arrest at a news confere

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