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Man arrested in murder of New Orleans woman found in burned out car

NEW ORLEANS - Police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a woman whose body was found in the trunk of her burned out car in New Orleans East in June, according to CBS affiliate WWL.

On June 21, Lindsay Nichols, 31, was found in the trunk of her car when firefighters and police responded to a car fire at the intersection of Lake Forest and Michoud boulevards, reports the station. The coroner later determined that she had been shot multiple times.

Thayon Samson, 30, was arrested and booked with one count of second-degree murder Monday for Nichols' murder, says the station.

According to police, a witness saw Samson standing behind Nichols' burned car, and cell phone records and DNA evidence link him to the victim.

According to WWL, Samson's bail was set at $2.5 million dollars in magistrate court Tuesday.

Nichols, a Des Allmands native and a mother, had recently returned to the area from Texas, where she traveled to work as a timekeeper for a construction company, says the station. Her mother said she had just moved into a new place and went out to a New Orleans East bar with friends on a Saturday night to celebrate.

It was the next morning that police found her in the trunk of her car in New Orleans East, reports the station.

A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 12.

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