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BOUNTIFUL -- The person of interest in the murder of a Bountiful woman has now been charged with the crime.
Charging documents say Chad Mecham strangled or suffocated Tina Wilson in her Bountiful apartment and then tried to cover it up.
Documents say Mecham wrapped the victim's hands and head in packing tape and hid her body in a bedroom under blankets and a mattress.
Documents also say Mecham left a message with her supervisor that she was sick and unable to work. He called the supervisor again the next day and said her condition was worsening.
On Sept. 29, Bountiful police went to Wilson's home at the request of her father who hadn't heard from her in several days.
Mecham allegedly used Wilson's cell phone for personal calls after her death and took her car.
Charging documents say Mecham left a cryptic, signed note in Wilson's apartment. Investigators also found his fingerprints on the packing tape on Wilson's body, as well as his DNA profile under the woman's fingernails.
Earlier this month, prosecutors charged Mecham with abuse or desecration of a human body. The charging document was amended on Monday to include the murder charge.
"The state crime lab moved heaven and earth to get us some preliminary information we could use for charging," said Davis County prosecutor David Cole. "We had to wait for those analyses to be done, and now we have the results of those analyses. That investigation is continuing. There's additional information that's going to be reviewed."
Prosecutors say they don't know the motive for the murder. Police have said Wilson and Mecham were friends and not romantically involved.
Mecham didn't say a word during a brief court appearance Monday. He is being held in the Davis County Jail without bail. He'll be back in court on Nov. 17.
If convicted, Mecham faces five years to life in prison.
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Story compiled with contributions from Sandra Yi and Nkoyo Iyamba.
