A Katy man is now charged with murder and tampering with a corpse in connection with the death of his wife.
Jay Patrick Hammersley is the man charged. Court documents say the murder took place on Feb. 16 and his wife's cause of death was ruled as strangulation and blunt force.
Police say Hammersley told them on March 19 that his wife, Mara Vestal, left their home near Golden Mesa Drive and Green Valley Trail Drive in the Sundown Glen subdivision and had not come back.
Investigators said Hammersley told them Vestal had been gone for two to three weeks and had taken her belongings.
However, authorities said throughout the course of the investigation, Hammersley’s story changed and he admitted to killing Vestal and disposing of her body.
Hammersley's bond was set at $105,000.