NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) — Deputies have arrested a southwest Mississippi man in the strangling death of a woman three weeks ago.

The Natchez Democrat reports that 33-year-old Gary Dewayne Mitchell of Meadville was arrested Thursday and charged with first degree murder.

Bail hadn’t been set for Mitchell as of Thursday night and it was unclear if he had a lawyer.

Adams County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jerry Brown says drugs may have played a role in the death of Ashley Coleman Touchstone. Brown says the two may have been part of a romantic dispute.

Touchstone was nude and found beneath her porch, and preliminary autopsy reports indicated blunt force trauma and strangulation to be the cause of death.
Earlier in the day, neighbors had reported seeing Touchstone running nude down the street.