Faribault Man Indicted On 1st-Degree Murder In Death Of Ohio Woman
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A grand jury in Rice County has indicted a 39-year-old Faribault man on first-degree and second-degree murder charges in the death of a woman who went missing from Ohio.
Jason Nisbit was arrested in early August after he led police to the body of 26-year-old Chelsea Martinez.
According to a criminal complaint, the mother of three had gone missing from her Columbus home in July and had traveled to Minnesota to meet Nisbit, with whom she talked about suicide.
On Aug. 1, the two met in a wooded area, where Nisbit tied her up, strangled her and cut her throat, investigators say.
Nisbit's wife, Gina Nisbit, said the two got to know each other online, at the website Experience Project.
She said her husband likely had a hand in Martinez's death, but she wouldn't call it murder.
The grand jury thought otherwise.
Nisbit, who had previously been charged with second-degree murder, now faces additional charges.
If convicted of the first-degree murder charge, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Nisbit is currently in jail in lieu of $1 million bail. His next court appearance has yet to be scheduled.