APD: Slain woman kept in home for weeks

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A man is charged with murder after police said he killed his wife and left her inside their East Austin home for more than three weeks.

Officers received a call Aug. 30 regarding a suspicious death inside a home at 1901 Rogge Lane .

Authorities found John Malcolm Nordstrom III, 63, inside the home when they arrived - along with a dead woman that investigators were unable to identify immediately due to the state of the body.

Through their investigation, they determined the person was Nordstrom’s 58-year-old wife, Deborah Diane Gordon.

Initially, the death was ruled a suicide. However, after executing a search warrant of the home, authorities said Nordstrom shot and killed his wife on Aug. 5, which was 25 days before officers were notified of the case.

After being unable to reach his father for weeks, Nordstrom's son called police when he went to check on his parents and smelled the decomposing body.

His father reportedly told him their home would be foreclosed on in a week and that Gordon was no longer alive.

Homicide detectives also found what appeared to be a suicide note written by Nordstrom to his two sons that was signed "Your adoring father."

According to the search warrant, Gordon's body was covered with a sheet with only her head exposed. Her face was "bloated and waxy in appearance."

Gordon was a YMCA instructor and failed to show up to work on Aug. 5.

Police interviewed a co-worker and said she sent Gordon an e-mail to her on the day she was absent. An e-mail response from Gordon's account said there was an emergency and that she would be out of town until Aug. 16.

The co-worker said she was not sure if Gordon was the one who sent the e-mail because the usual signatures she included in her e-mails were not included. 

A grand jury indicted Nordstrom on Thursday with first-degree felony murder, and he is in the Travis County Jail. Bond is set at $200,000.

Of the 23 homicides in Austin for 2010, this is the 21st. There were 15 murders at this time in 2009.

The Austin homicides that were initially numbered 21 and 22 have been renumbered, meaning homicide No. 22 happened on Wonsley Drive and that homicide No. 23 happened on McNeil Road .

The case remains under investigation by homicide detectives. Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide tip line at (512) 477-3588, Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-TIPS or text "Tip 103" + your message to CRIMES.

You may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your tip leads to an arrest or charges being filed.