A suspect has been charged in connection to the death of an Alabama woman who'd gone missing last month after texting a friend that she feared she was "in trouble."
Authorities found and arrested Fredrick Hampton, 50, in Cleveland on Wednesday night, charging him with burying her body.
The body of Paighton Houston, 29, of Trussville, was discovered on Jan. 4, after she was last seen leaving a bar in Birmingham with two men at around 10:45 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2019.
Around midnight that night, she texted a friend saying, "If I call answer, I don't know these people and I feel in trouble."
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office told local media Thursday that Houston's death was ruled an accidental overdose caused by morphine and methamphetamine.
"This represents an overdose and is classified as a drug-opioid death,'' Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said in a statement given to AL.com.
A warrant for Hampton's arrest had been issued on Jan. 16 for charges of abuse of a corpse and sex offender violations.
Houston's body was found wrapped in sheets and buried in a shallow grave outside the home of Hampton's relatives.
Hampton spent 20 years in prison for rape and is a registered sex offender.
He will be extradited to Alabama.