Woman found dead in crashed car had been shot, beaten
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The body of a woman found in a car that crashed Monday night on a busy Anchorage street showed signs of mutilation.
The body of 30-year-old Jacqueline Goodwin was covered with a plastic bag and zip ties had been placed around her wrists. It was hidden under a sleeping bag in the car's bag seat, reports CBS affiliate KTVA.
Anchorage television station KTUU reports the information was revealed in murder charges filed against the driver of the car, 34-year-old Benjamin Wilkins.
He was arrested after his car crashed into a light pole in a suspected DUI wreck on Debarr Road near Alaska Regional Hospital.
The state medical examiner says Goodwin had been shot in the abdomen, hit in the head and asphyxiated.
KTVA reports the woman had been tortured before her death with pliers. A prosecutor said the woman suffered a "prolonged and agonizing" death. Police say they believe Wilkins tortured and killed the woman in the basement of his grandmother's home, where he lived.
Wilkins' brother, 28-year-old Connor Stefano, and mother, 61-year-old Jacqueline Stefano, were taken into custody on suspicion of hindering prosecution. Jacqueline Stefano was free on bail Thursday.