Man accused of deliberately knocking down and killing jogger to have sex with her body

Investigators discovered that the man had searched for pornography involving dead or unconscious women shortly after the woman went missing

A Michigan man has been indicted for allegedly hitting and killing a 64-year-old woman with his car with the intention of having sex with her body.

The driver, Colby Martin, 29, was arraigned on Wednesday, according to WMMT-TV in Grand Rapids.

Colby Martin, 29, of Michigan, is accused of murdering a 64-year-old woman with his car and moving her body into the woods in order to engage in sexual acts with the corpse. (Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office)

According to police reports, Mr Martin was charged in September with manslaughter and concealing a body.

Mr Martin allegedly drove into the jogger while she was exercising near the Oak Shores Campground on 20 September. He then allegedly moved her body to a wooded area and then engaged in sex acts with it, according to police.

Police located Mr Martin's vehicle at a Walmart on 21 September and noted that it had extensive front-end damage consistent with an accident. When they found Mr Martin, he allegedly had the woman's cellphone in his possession and reportedly tried to conceal incriminating evidence linking him to her.

The woman had been reported missing when she did not return home the previous day.

Mr Martin led police to the woman's body in the woods. Initially he was let out on a $300,000 bond and charged with manslaughter with a motor vehicle, failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death, and concealing the death of an individual.

However, as police continued their investigation they began to find evidence leading them to believe the attack was intentional. Police found condoms with both the woman and Mr Martin's DNA on them in his car and in a trashcan near his home. They also discovered that shortly after the woman was reported missing, Mr Martin had been searching for pornography online involving dead or unconscious women.

"That is a very different set of facts," Van Buren County District Court Judge Michael McKay said during the arraignment. "There is probable cause to believe that the defendant intentionally struck the victim with the vehicle, took her body [and] engaged in sexual acts with the body."

Mr Martin was arrested again at his girlfriend's home in Big Rapids, and has been denied bond.

His lawyer, attorney Jim Mequio, said he does not believe the additional murder charges are justified.

“We’re still waiting for reports and more evidence from the prosecutor’s office. From a legal standpoint, I’m not seeing the increase in charges will be justified,” the attorney told ABC13.

Van Buren County Sheriff Dan Abbott said investigators were continuing to search for evidence in the killing.

"We expect more information to keep coming forth. Our focus right now is this case to make sure no stone goes unturned," he said.