AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man was arrested in connection with a September homicide investigation where a woman’s body was set on fire in northwest Austin, according to a Travis County affidavit.
The affidavit said Andrew Alexander Cole, 45, faced a charge of tampering or fabricating physical evidence with the intent to impair—a second-degree felony. Cole remained booked into the Travis County jail Friday on a bond of more than $100,000, according to jail records.
KXAN has begun looking into attorney information for Cole. If an attorney is found and a statement is received, this story will be updated.
Investigators believed Cole was with Davis for her death and then tampered with evidence when he “removed the victim from his hotel room, drove the victim to a neighborhood, placed the victim on the side of the road and lit her on fire,” according to the affidavit.

Following positive fingerprint identification, the victim was identified as 33-year-old Melissa Ann Davis.
Documents showed detectives used surveillance cameras in the area and phone records from both Davis and Cole to connect him with the investigation.
According to court documents, on Sept. 29 at 5:07 a.m., the Austin Fire Department responded to a grass fire in the 6300 block of Mesa Drive.
While extinguishing the fire, crews found a body, and the Austin Police Department was then called. According to documents, officers arrived and smelled “a strong odor of an accelerant” near the Davis’ body.
At the scene, APD said it found a kitchen butcher knife and a lighter. Both were collected as evidence.