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OGDEN — An Ogden woman already in the Weber County Jail has now been linked to the beating death of a man in October.
Emily Francis Drake, 38, who police say is homeless, was charged Thursday in 2nd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, and possession of a weapon by a restricted person, a class A misdemeanor.
On Oct. 5, Ogden police were called to a home where a "a large amount of blood" was found. The discovery was made by a person who went to check on a friend who had been missing for a few days.
"Police responded and found the victim deceased in their home with apparent blunt force injuries to their head. The victim's death was ultimately determined to be a homicide from blunt force trauma," according to charging documents.
The name of the victim is not included in charging documents or an arrest report. Ogden police did not immediately respond to a request for that information Thursday.
After collecting DNA evidence from a baseball bat believed to have been used in the killing and putting the DNA into a national database, a potential match was made to Drake, prosecutors say.
Police then learned that Drake "had been arrested for unrelated charges in close proximity to when the murder was suspected to have taken place," the charges say. In that case, Drake was arrested on Oct. 3 near 2500 North and U.S. 89. A woman was following Drake after she allegedly stole a car.
When police pulled Drake over and took her into custody, she kicked the arresting officer, the charges state. On Nov. 21, she was found guilty and mentally ill on a charge of assault by a prisoner.
A search warrant was later served on the clothing that Drake was wearing when she was arrested on Oct. 3. The charges say blood was found on her clothing that came from the deceased victim who was found on Oct. 5.
"She was interviewed by investigators and subsequently admitted to killing the victim by hitting him in the head," according to the charges.
