Body Of Shannon Graves Found In Freezer, Suspect's New Girlfriend Moved In and Stole Her Identity

Katrina Layton began using Shannon Graves' credit card and cell phone, driving her car, and taking care of her dog.

August 02, 2017
By: Catherine Townsend

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YOUNGSTOWN, OH — Shannon Graves, 28, was last seen alive in February.

Shannon Graves

Shannon Graves

Two weeks after her disappearance, Graves' boyfriend, Arturo Novoa, 31, moved his new love interest, Katrina Layton, 34, into the home he had shared with Graves. Layton began using Graves' credit card and cell phone, driving her car, and taking care of her dog.

Novoa, claiming that his power was out, asked a friend to keep a padlocked freezer for him so its contents wouldn't spoil. After storing the freezer for a while, the friend eventually decided to unscrew the padlock and open it, hoping to borrow some meat to make dinner, and replace it later. Meat was found, but it turned out to be the dismembered remains of Shannon Graves, in several different bags.

Novoa and Layton were arrested over the weekend and have been jailed on corpse-abuse charges and had bond set at $1 million. Investigators said that they are still waiting on an official identification of the body and information to determine cause of death, and no murder charges can be filed until that time.

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