Trial for woman charged with roommate's murder moved back to May
Feb. 17—Prosecutors asked for a postponement on the trial of an area woman who was charged with first-degree murder and desecration of her roommate's corpse.
On Jan. 22, 2021, District Attorney Jack Thorp announced that Kore Bommeli had been charged with murdering Talina Galloway, 53, after the victim's remains were found in a freezer in Arkansas. According to the probable cause affidavit, Galloway was reported missing in April by Bommeli, with whom she shared an apartment.
"Kore reported that Talina made a Facebook post saying she had COVID-19 and she was leaving and going to her favorite lake to be alone," the affidavit stated. "Kore stated Talina left home out of a fear of being intubated, and that she left with her driver's license, $700 cash, a 9mm firearm, a .45-caliber firearm, her cellular phone, her medications, and a bottle of alcohol."
After an exhaustive probe, Wagoner County investigators determined Galloway hadn't been screened by any doctor for COVID-19. Bommeli was listed on Galloway's life insurance policy.
"During multiple recorded interviews with Kore, she lied about owning a white tandem-axle trailer," the affidavit stated. "After being questioned about the trailer, evidence shows Kore actively attempted to hid the trailer at a friend's house and had it plugged into an electrical outlet."
Bommeli sold the trailer to a scrap yard in Muskogee, and investigators discovered the presence of blood.
"From witnesses, investigators determined a white chest freezer was missing from the kitchen of Galloway's house and was likely inside the white trailer, as it was being stored at a friend's house and while it was connected to electricity," the affidavit stated.
On June 6, 2020, investigators were informed by employees of the U-Haul store in Muskogee that the trailer Bommeli returned had a foul odor coming from it.
"Two days later on June 8, 2020, a witness in Mena, Arkansas, reported to law enforcement the same U-Haul trailer, which was attached to a pick-up truck, was backed up to the national forest near the witness's house," said the affidavit.
The witness said she walked around the trailer and believed the foul odor was that of decomposition.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Galloway's apartment after they found the same U-Haul trailer locked in the garage with a fan blowing toward it. Investigators also noticed Bommeli had been painting the concrete floor of the garage. Reports of the suspicious activity and the freezer in Arkansas was unknown to officers at that time.
On Jan. 14, 2021, deputies opened the freezer and found a dismembered body. The witness provided the tag number of the trailer to deputies, and Wagoner County investigators were then contacted. The Arkansas Medical Examiner determined the remains were those of Galloway.
Investigators looked at data retrieved from Bommeli's phone and found out she had been trying to purchase the same land where Galloway's remains were found. Tracking information showed Bommeli's phone was in Mena several times between June and July 2020.
Bommeli waived her right to a speedy trial on Aug. 30, 2022, and the state asked for a continuance for the May 2023 jury trial docket.
In addition to being charged with murder and desecration of a corpse, Bommeli was also charged with unauthorized use of a credit card, pattern of criminal offenses, felony value-false pretense/bogus check/con game, embezzlement, destroying evidence, two counts of possession of a firearm after former felony conviction, and five counts of obstructing an officer.
