Oklahoma Man Charged With Murder After Strangling His Victim to Death

A man in Oklahoma received multiple criminal charges for allegedly strangling a woman to death and leaving her body in a tote at Lake Thunderbird in February.

Austin Godwin, 30, turned himself in to the Norman Police Department on February 21 and confessed to killing Charissia Dawn Bell during an interview.

According to court documents, Godwin claimed that Bell got into his car after a conversation on February 12, and after returning to his apartment, he attempted to have sex with her.

When she refused, Godwin strangled Bell with a rope for about five minutes until she was dead. He then put her body in a small black tote, which he found too heavy to carry, and purchased a clear tote with wheels from Walmart.

He wrapped Bell in blankets and placed her in the clear tote, which he took to a secluded area at Lake Thunderbird where he left it.

Godwin is being held at the Cleveland County Detention Center on charges of first-degree murder and unlawful removal of a body.