A Gwinnett County man accused of killing his wife and dumping her body behind an auto repair shop told police the woman died after accidentally falling down stairs at their Lawrenceville apartment.
A Lawrenceville police report said Fernando Guzman-Perez made a partial confession in the Oct. 7 death of his wife of nine years, Yamilet Rodriquez, admitting to hiding her body, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Guzman-Perez appeared in court Friday, a day after Rodriquez’s decomposed body was found in the woods behind the Express Oil Change where the husband worked yards away.
The manager of the auto repair shop called police after noticing a peculiar smell, Channel 2 previously reported. Investigators believe Rodriquez’s body may have been in the woods on Pike Street for several days.
Yaneth Molina, Guzman-Perez’s sister-in-law, said the accused killer painted the couple’s apartment and replaced the carpet after her sister’s disappearance. She was last seen alive Oct. 6.
Molina told Channel 2 that Guzman-Perez claimed his wife had just walked away from the family, but she never believed him.
“It wasn’t an accident,” said Molina, adding that her brother-in-law’s explanation “is impossible.”
“I never imagined this would happen,” Molina said.
Guzman-Perez, who reported his wife missing on Oct. 12, said very little through a translator during the Friday court appearance. When asked, he said through a translator that the couple has five children, Authorities said the children were placed in state custody.
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