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RICHFIELD — When Melanie Callison went missing and her husband said she had gone to California, her family knew the investigation would end in tragedy.
"I'm somewhat relieved that we at least know where she is instead of not knowing. The thoughts of what he did to her are really hard. I knew almost from the beginning she wasn't going to be coming back," her mother, Ellen Row, said Friday.
Callison, 46, had been missing since September. She allegedly left for California without saying goodbye to any of her family members.
On Thursday, investigators found human remains in a campground less than a mile off state Route 24 in Sevier County believed to be those of Callison. Edward Callison, 59, was arrested Thursday for investigation of murder.
Formal charges are expected to be filed Monday against Callison. He just filed for divorce from his wife on Monday.
The Richfield couple had been married for less than a year, according to Melanie Callison's Facebook page.
On Friday, her mother and daughter said they distrusted Edward Callison from the start.
I'm somewhat relieved that we at least know where she is instead of not knowing. The thoughts of what he did to her are really hard. I knew almost from the beginning she wasn't going to be coming back.
–Melanie Callison's mother, Ellen Row
"He was very polite when he came around here. He acted like he really loved Melanie. I think it was just a farce. I think he is a predator. I think he preyed on her," Row said.
"I think almost from the beginning we felt very uneasy about him," Melanie's adult daughter, Michelle Standley added. "I instantly had distrust for him."
Family members said Melanie had prior drug problems and was living in a shelter when she met her husband.
"But she was a really good person. Would help anybody. Loved her family very much," her mother said.
Edward Callison moved to Richfield from California because he had been convicted of two felonies and wanted to avoid that state's "three strikes" rule, according to family members.
Melanie Callison was last seen in Richfield on Sept. 11, by her physician, according to the Sevier County Sheriff's Office. Family members reported her missing on Sept. 25.
As the weeks went on, Row said Edward Callison "kept changing his story so many times" about his wife's departure. She said she called the bus company and verified her daughter had never purchased a ticket.
"He just kept lying, over and over and over," Row recalled.
Finally, on Monday, the day he filed for divorce, family members confronted him.
"He looked me straight in the eye, 'You know me well enough to know I wouldn't hurt Melanie.' And I said, 'No. What I know is my daughter is missing. And as far as I can ascertain, you are the last person to see her,'" Row told him.
Sheriff's investigators were also taking note of Callison's inconsistent statements. On Thursday, detectives took him in for questioning, Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said.
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A Richfield man was arrested after a body, who police believe is his wife, was discovered."Mr. Callison told detectives what had happened at the location of the crime scene," he said.
Those details of exactly what happened have not been revealed. "He didn't really tell us that he had planned on it. It was just interesting," Curtis said. "What was suspicious to us were the inconsistencies in his story. As to his motive, I have no idea."
While Edward Callison is still communicating with police, Curtis said he "has tried to intentionally mislead us."
The couple married on April 25. Several pictures of the couple were posted on Facebook, as well as a picture of Melanie Callison's tattoo reading "Property of Big Ed till death," taken on May 10.
Utah state court records show Callison pleaded guilty in 2013 to unlawful possession of a financial card and identity fraud, both third-degree felonies, and class B misdemeanor theft in 2007. He was divorced from a previous wife in 2006.
Melanie Callison's family said instead of her troubled past, they will remember happier times when she was a child riding her tricycle as well as her laugh and her voice.
"I'm stuck on today that we have no belongings of hers. I keep thinking that there should be something we should be able to look through. He's gotten rid of everything. There's nothing," Standley said.
"I know she's in a better place. But it's hard. It's really hard," Row said.
Contributing: Andrew Adams
