PIERRE, S.D. — A Detroit truck driver has been arrested for the grisly killing of a woman whose remains were found scattered Monday at the Mitchell, South Dakota, Interstate 90 Travel Center.
According to South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and the Mitchell Police Department, Anthony Harris, 60, was arrested in Washington state and has been charged with second-degree murder and improper disposal of a body in the death of 57-year-old Melody Fae Gooch of Detroit.
According to court documents, Gooch was run over several times by an 18-wheeler, and her body was dismembered and stashed under several pallets at the travel center.
Gooch’s family told police that Harris and Gooch had been together before she was murdered, according to court documents.
When police contacted Harris’ trucking company, Transfinity Logistics, they offered up his logbook reports, which showed that he traveled 22 miles east/northeast of Mitchell at approximately 6:50 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, and shut down at 7:05 p.m.
The logbook showed he was at the same location of the Travel Center parking lot at the time of the alleged crimes.
Details of Gooch’s killing are horrific.
Court documents state that Mitchell police arrived at the scene after someone called to report that human entrails were found in the travel center’s parking lot, along with significant blood spatter consistent with someone who had been struck by a large vehicle then dragged away. Her head was later found in in a bag at the scene.
Police obtained video from the travel center and saw a semi-truck moving suspiciously in the parking lot for about a half-hour.
The truck was seen leaving the area at about 6:06 p.m. and heading westbound on I-90.
Police say Harris was found in the same big rig that was caught on camera at the truck stop.
“We were able, through additional good police work, looking at videos, further efforts, including working with officials from other states, make a determination and arrive to a point where we were able to, (Thursday), get search warrants, arrest warrants and ultimately put suspect Anthony Harris in custody,” Jackley told the Mitchell Republic.
People who may have known or seen the decrease in the Mitchell area between Saturday, March 9, and Monday, March 11, are asked to call the Mitchell Police Department at (605) 995-8400.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
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