ERIE, PA. Woman charged in connection with frozen body

A man told police he agreed to help hide the body.
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- A woman acquitted in the death of her boyfriend 15 years ago has been charged with killing a man she lived with after a body believed to be his was found in a freezer this weekend, law enforcement officials said.
Marjorie E. Diehl-Armstrong, 52, is accused of killing James Roden, also known as James Thompson, who lived with her in an Erie apartment, sometime on or before Aug. 13. Her arrest Sunday came after another man told police he had agreed to help the woman hide Roden's body, get rid of a shotgun and clean up her apartment for $2,000.
William Rothstein contacted police Saturday and told them he had placed the body in the freezer in his home outside Erie, also alleging that he decided to go to authorities after he and Diehl discussed using an ice crusher to dismember Roden's body.
Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said no positive identification -- including a gender, race or age -- has been made on the body because it was wrapped in canvas and plastic and could take days to thaw enough to allow an autopsy to be performed.
Authorities have no motive for the alleged homicide, said Police Chief Charles Bowers.
1984 charges
Court records and law enforcement officials say Diehl-Armstrong, then known as Marjorie Diehl, was charged in 1984 with the shooting death of her then-boyfriend, Robert Thomas.
Saying she had been a victim of physical and sexual abuse, Diehl testified that she had no choice but to shoot Thomas before he killed her. She was acquitted of the homicide charge in 1988 and received probation for carrying a firearm without a license.
On Monday, Brad Foulk, Erie County district attorney, said Diehl is charged with homicide, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and other counts. No charges have been filed against Rothstein, who police say is fully cooperating with them.
Police said Rothstein told them Diehl called him Aug. 13 to help her and that he did so, wrapping Roden's body in plastic sheeting and taking it from the Erie apartment Roden and Diehl shared.
X-rays show shotgun pellets
At some point, he apparently put the body in the freezer, authorities said, adding that X-rays of the body showed what appeared to be shotgun pellets.
Police also said Rothstein agreed to get rid of a 12-gauge shotgun, scattering its parts around the county. Bowers said authorities think Roden was shot in the chest.
Neither Bowers nor Foulk were willing to speculate about the nature of any relationship between Rothstein and Diehl-Armstrong.