Opening statements began Thursday in the murder trial against Christopher Wolfenbarger, a Georgia man accused of killing and beheading his wife.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Wolfenberger stands accused of the murder of his wife, Melissa Wolfenberger.

Police named Wolfenberger a person of interest from the start, according to Atlanta Homicide Detective Jarion Shepard.

Melissa Wolfenbarger’s family last heard from her on Thanksgiving 1998, when she called from her husband’s grandparents’ home, according to a police report at the time.

In 1999, investigators found a human head, soaked in bleach in a black trash bag, off of Avon Avenue in Atlanta, The head was in an area behind a glass company where Christopher Wolfenbarger once worked.

Police said he didn’t report his wife missing until 2000, claiming that she left voluntarily and never returned.

A grand jury indicted Wolfenberger in 2024.

[Feature Photo: Family Handout]