A Colorado woman is accused of killing her husband, dismembering his body and secretly keeping his remains inside storage containers in her home for months before finally walking into a police station with her daughter and revealing what had happened.
Sheldon “Shelly” Wilson, 62, is facing charges of second-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence after investigators discovered the remains of her husband, Alan Groom, inside her Colorado Springs home.
The disturbing case began Saturday afternoon when Wilson and her daughter went to the Colorado Springs Police Operations Center and reported that Groom was dead inside a home on Tappan Drive.
Wilson allegedly warned officers that what they were about to discover was horrific.
“You’re going to find out a lot more real soon; it’s bad,” she allegedly told police, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KRDO.
She allegedly added that there were “no words” for what officers were about to find.
Police responded to the home in the 4000 block of Tappan Drive, near Palmer Park and North Academy Boulevard.
Inside, officers said they detected a strong odor of decomposition and found two black plastic storage totes with red lids.
According to court records, decomposing human tissue was visible inside one of the containers, along with what appeared to be a human leg protruding from a black trash bag. Another black trash bag inside the second tote had allegedly been tightly wrapped with duct tape.
Investigators also found a small mattress behind a privacy fence in the backyard that was covered with dark stains believed to be blood and other biological material, according to the affidavit.
The court documents describe a troubling history between Wilson and Groom stretching back well before his death.
Police said there had been 18 calls for service to the residence since December 2024, several involving allegations that Wilson had abused Groom.
On Dec. 17, 2025, a family member allegedly contacted police after receiving more than 40 phone calls from Wilson in which she expressed a desire to kill Groom.
Wilson allegedly told detectives that she had a drinking problem and had previously hurt Groom while intoxicated.
According to investigators, she said there were at least 10 occasions when she believed she had done “bad things” to him after drinking, although she claimed she could not remember the details of every incident.
Wilson told police Groom had suffered a series of strokes and had previously been placed in hospice care, though she said his condition later improved enough for him to be removed from hospice.
She also allegedly told investigators Groom was physically weak and incapable of hurting her.
According to the affidavit, Wilson said she had been drinking the night of March 16, the day of Groom’s birthday.
The following morning, March 17, she allegedly woke up and found him unresponsive in bed.
Wilson told detectives her immediate thought was, “What did I do?”
She allegedly checked Groom for bruises but said she did not see any obvious injuries.
Instead of calling authorities, Wilson allegedly covered him with blankets and went to work.
When she returned home later that day and Groom was still unresponsive, she said she realized he was dead.
His body allegedly remained covered inside the home for about a week.
Wilson told detectives she did not want her daughters to discover that she had been abusing Groom.
Court records say that roughly two or three months after his death, Wilson allegedly dismembered Groom’s body and placed his remains in storage containers around the house.
She allegedly admitted monitoring the smell as the remains decomposed and told investigators she had once planned to dispose of the body but never followed through.
Meanwhile, relatives were growing increasingly suspicious.
Wilson allegedly told family members that Groom had left Colorado to stay with relatives out of state.
One of Wilson’s daughters, who lived next door, told police her mother had given various explanations about Groom’s whereabouts.
On Sept. 17, another family member asked police to perform a welfare check because relatives had been unable to contact Groom for months.
Officers went to the home, but Wilson allegedly claimed that Groom was receiving outpatient hospice care and only returned home periodically.
By then, investigators say she realized she could no longer keep the truth hidden.
The following day, one of Wilson’s daughters allegedly received messages from her mother saying she had “messed up very badly” and was likely going to prison for a long time.
Wilson then reportedly admitted Groom had been dead inside the house since March.
Her daughter drove her to the police station the next day, leading officers to the remains.
Even after her arrest, investigators say Wilson made another startling admission.
While officers were escorting her to a holding cell, she allegedly said she expected to face additional charges because she had continued collecting Groom’s Social Security payments for roughly six months after his death.
“Can I just plea guilty, how does that work?” Wilson allegedly asked officers.
Wilson is being held in the El Paso County Jail without bond while the case moves forward.
The El Paso County Coroner’s Office is responsible for officially determining Groom’s cause and manner of death, and those findings had not yet been publicly released.
Make sure your lawyer gets you a female jury and claims it was a postpartum psychosis episode.
No Colorado jury will convict her