A 31-year-old man from Kentucky is facing serious allegations of murdering his wife and leaving her body in the kitchen for three days, while misleading their children by saying “mommy was sleeping.”

Salko Husejnovic has been charged with murder, evidence tampering, and corpse abuse following the tragic death of Jasmina Aljic in Bowling Green. The Warren County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident just before 3:30 a.m. on January 19, involving a car fire resulting from a crash on Threlkel Ferry Road. When firefighters arrived, the vehicle was engulfed in flames. After extinguishing the blaze, they discovered a body inside.

Investigators concluded that she had died prior to the fire, as there was no soot present in her lungs, indicating the fire had been deliberately set.

According to police, Husejnovic allegedly killed his wife three days before her body was discovered. During this period, her body remained on the kitchen floor while he and their three children continued to live in the house, misleading them with the claim that “mommy was sleeping,” as per an arrest citation reported by Lexington Fox affiliate WDKY.

Husejnovic allegedly sought assistance from 44-year-old Shelly Boyd, who was romantically involved with his brother. Boyd reportedly witnessed the fatal attack but did not intervene. Furthermore, she is accused of purchasing the gasoline used to set the car ablaze. The pair allegedly drove to the site on Threlkel Ferry Road, where they set the vehicle on fire. Boyd faces charges of tampering with evidence and corpse abuse.

A detective testified at a preliminary hearing on Friday that Aljic had a protective order against Husejnovic out of Missouri, according to a courtroom report from the Bowling Green Daily News. Aljic was living in Missouri until after Christmas, when she moved to the Bowling Green area.

Detectives went to Husejnovic’s home after finding Aljic’s body, but Boyd reportedly answered the door and claimed he was not home. Cops learned Husejnovic was inside hiding and he eventually came out on his own. Husejnovic at first denied knowing his wife’s whereabouts saying he last saw her in November, the Daily News reported.

Investigators reportedly testified that during a search of the home, they found a bag of clothing hidden in a kitchen cabinet. Surveillance video allegedly showed Boyd wearing the same clothing when she and Husejnovic were trying to get rid of the car. Authorities also discovered three bloodstained pillows in the washing machine, detectives stated.

Boyd eventually admitted to detectives she saw Husejnovic “beating” his wife, according to reports. She also reportedly confirmed the body was on the kitchen floor for three days. Boyd stated that Husejnovic initially wanted to push the car down a cliff with Aljic’s body inside but when that didn’t work he set the car on fire, detectives reportedly testified.

In an interview with detectives, Husejnovic allegedly admitted to hitting his wife during an argument and that she stopped breathing. He claimed it was Boyd’s idea to not call 911 and leave the body in the kitchen, per the Daily News.

Authorities are still trying to determine the victim’s cause of death.

Husejnovic remains in the Warren County Jail on a $1 million bond while Boyd is in jail with a nearly $50,000 bond.