A Wisconsin man allegedly killed his wife, changed his status on Facebook to “widowed,” and gave the slain woman’s wedding ring to his new fiancée, whom he met on Tinder, according to authorities.
Aaron Nelson, 43, was arrested Friday and has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in connection with the disappearance of his wife, 42-year-old Alexis Nelson, according to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said the couple, who lived together in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, were last seen together on surveillance footage at a Kwik Trip convenience store in Beaver Dam on March 29, 2025. Family members later reported Alexis missing after they had not heard from her since May 2025.
Nelson met a woman on Tinder on April 30, 2025, according to prosecutors, and by the end of May, they were dating and had moved in together, according to court documents.
Meanwhile, Alexis remains missing. Her body has not been found, but investigators say evidence collected over the past year points to a violent death and an alleged effort to conceal it, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law & Crime.
According to court documents, cellphone data showed Alexis’ phone traveled to Sun Prairie shortly after she was last seen with Nelson on March 29, 2025, according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege Nelson purchased a 32-gallon trash can the following day – a container investigators later recovered at the home of his new fiancée when they searched her property in June.
On April 2, 2025, Nelson created a new Facebook account under the name “James Nelson.” When investigators viewed this page in November, his relationship status had been changed to “widowed,” according to WISC.
Investigators later discovered that Nelson’s new fiancée’s engagement ring had previously been Alexis Nelson‘s wedding ring, according to the criminal complaint.
When the fiancée’s property was searched in June, investigators brought in a cadaver dog that alerted near a shed where the trash can had been stored, indicating the possible scent of decomposing human remains, investigators said.
Authorities also said searches of the couple’s former apartment and a storage unit uncovered evidence tied to Alexis, including blood matching her DNA and signs of human decomposition.
Neighbor Carrie Peaine told WITI that she often heard arguing coming from the couple’s apartment and that she rarely saw Alexis without Aaron.
“I still, I wish he would just tell ’em where her body is,” Peaine said. “What he did with her at least, you know. The family needs it.”
Nelson appeared in Dodge County court on Monday, where a judge set his bond at $1 million cash.
He remains in the Dodge County Jail and is scheduled to return to court on May 28.
