Watch CBS News

New arrests in gruesome case of burned Ohio woman Celeste Fronsman

Monica Jean Washington (left) and LaFonse Darney Dixon. AP Photo/Muskingum Sheriff Department

(CBS/AP) ZANESVILLE, Ohio - Two more people have been arrested in the gruesome death of a woman found covered in burns and wailing in agony on the side of a rural Ohio road, authorities said Tuesday.

LaFonse Darney Dixon, 33, and Monica Jean Washington, 24, were charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping and aggravated arson, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said.

Their arrests come on the heels of last week's arrest of 20-year-old Katrina Marie Culberson of Canton. She was also charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping and aggravated arson.

On Aug. 26, a driver found 29-year-old Celeste Fronsman on a road northeast of Zanesville in eastern Ohio. She had been raped and burned and had a strap around her neck. She died two days later at a Columbus hospital.

Her death was ruled a homicide, but the exact cause of death could take more than a month to determine because of the severe burns to 80 percent of her body.

Lutz has declined to say what detectives believe the motive was in Fronsman's killing but says they believe she was killed by someone she knew.

A conviction of aggravated murder in Ohio makes a defendant eligible for the death penalty. It's unclear if the suspects yet have attorneys.

Fronsman was involved in prostitution and court records show that she had been arrested more than 20 times since 2003. Most of her arrests involved domestic violence, cocaine possession and prostitution.

Fronsman's family has said the young woman was a good person with a good heart who was left tortured by the death of her 2-year-old daughter in 2005 and her mother in 2009.

More on CrimesiderAugust 30, 2012 - Witness recalls finding naked, burned woman on rural Ohio road; Celeste Fronsman died TuesdayAugust 28, 2012 - Ohio woman found burned, beaten, naked on rural road, dies

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.