Man who killed Mason woman, burned and buried her remains Up North sentenced

Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal
·2 min read

LANSING — A man has been sentenced to prison for the 2021 murder of a Mason woman whose remains were burned and buried in northern Michigan.

Cory Dean Coddington, 43, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in connection with the death of Melissa Nicole Murray, 33, as part of an agreement that fixed his minimum sentence at 20 years.

He was sentenced Wednesday to 20 to 60 years in prison by Ingham County Circuit Judge Jim Jamo. Coddington will get credit for 1,016 days of time already served.

Cory Dean Coddington, 43, enters Circuit Judge James Jamo's courtroom for sentencing on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. He was convicted of murdering Mason resident Melissa Murray, 33, in Lansing and burning and burying her remains in Isabella County.
Cory Dean Coddington, 43, enters Circuit Judge James Jamo's courtroom for sentencing on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. He was convicted of murdering Mason resident Melissa Murray, 33, in Lansing and burning and burying her remains in Isabella County.

Murray was shot and killed Feb. 2, 2021 at a home on Mahlon Street in Lansing, Lansing police said. Weeks later, her burned remains were found buried in an Isasbella County field.

Testimony in Coddington's preliminary examination indicated at least six people were in the house when Murray was shot, but none of those interviewed by police specifically identified Coddington as the gunman. As a result, the case against him was largely circumstantial.

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The strongest piece of evidence was data collected by the GPS monitoring tether Coddington was wearing at the time of Murray's murder. The data placed him at the Mahlon Street residence, as well as the field where investigators discovered Murray's remain on March 24.

A skull fragment found at the Mahlon house was linked to Murray through DNA testing. Experts who examined her body found she had suffered at least one traumatic impact to the right side of her head before her remains were burned and buried.

Another man was accused of helping Coddington dispose of Murray's body, and he led police to the area where her remains were found.

Daniel Dutton received a probation sentence for lying during a violent crime investigation, the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office said.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Man who killed Mason woman, buried her remains Up North sentenced