Cleaners Uncover Horrifying Secret After Noticing Hollow Wall Sound
In a chilling turn of events, cleaners working in the basement of a house where a man had lived alone for decades made a horrifying discovery after noticing a wall sounded hollow. Upon further investigation, they found a barrel-shaped container hidden behind the wall. Inside this container was a black rubbish bag tied with rope, containing the skeletal remains of a woman who had been missing for nearly 30 years. The woman was identified as JoAnn Nichols, and detectives ruled she had been murdered due to a blunt force trauma wound to her head.
A Once-Normal Home on a Pretty Street
Until her disappearance in 1985, JoAnn Nichols lived with her husband, James Nichols, in a seemingly normal house on a pretty street lined with well-maintained homes featuring big front gardens. Despite suspicions from relatives, neighbours, and even the police that James was responsible for her disappearance, he was never arrested or publicly named as a suspect. He continued to reside in the house for 28 years with his wife's body concealed in the wall until he died of natural causes in 2013 at age 82, found slumped in a chair.
The house was filled with hoarded rubbish, and when contractors were called in to clean the mess, they could not have imagined the grim secret waiting beneath the structure. JoAnn, described as a teacher at an elementary school who charmed visitors with a honeyed Southern accent and a ready smile, met a tragic end in the very home where she once hosted guests.
Neighbours and Police Express Shock and Suspicion
Mary Feron, a long-time neighbour of the couple, told the New York Times after the discovery: "He wrapped her up and put her in the wall and lived there and went out to church suppers... I hate that." When JoAnn disappeared in December 1985, her husband reported her missing. She had taught her last day at school on December 20 and failed to show up for a hair appointment the next day. James Nichols told police he last saw his wife when he left for work at IBM that morning and found a typed note upon returning home in Poughkeepsie, New York, with her car locked at a nearby shopping centre.
Speculation arose that JoAnn might have been despondent over their only child's drowning death three years earlier at age 25. Police searched nearby rivers and woods but found no trace. A detective noted the note indicated a "degree of depression, but it's not what I'd consider a suicide letter." Shortly after, James Nichols claimed his wife called him early on Christmas Eve morning to say she was fine and asked him to greet their two golden retrievers, but she hung up when he inquired about her location.
Growing Suspicious and Cold Demeanor
Police grew increasingly suspicious, especially after setting up surveillance and learning James was seeing another woman. Charles Mittelstaedt, the chief of detectives at the time, told the New York Times: "That’s when it started to stink," while retired detective William Holland added: "I was a cop for 30 years, and he was the coldest individual I ever dealt with." Neighbours described JoAnn as a pleasure to know but James as odd, recounting incidents such as him showing guests the frozen carcass of a pet cat in a basement freezer.
Other reports indicate one neighbour asked him to help with an injured squirrel, and he killed it with a hatchet in front of screaming children while still wearing his work suit jacket. The same neighbour claimed she caught him taking photographs of her as she painted her house. The case eventually went cold, and James continued living in the marital home despite the hidden body. Neighbours saw him less and less until, after not seeing him for a while, they called police, leading to the discovery of his death.
Tragic Aftermath and Family Reflections
Tragically, James was not the only one affected by this ordeal. JoAnn's brother, John Miller, told the New York Times: "It sounds like he was right where he should’ve been, miserable and living in filth. There was no reason for him to die alone. He did it all to himself." This case highlights a long-hidden crime that shocked the community and left a family searching for answers for nearly three decades.
