CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Mingo County man who police say admitted to killing his wife and stuffing her body in a refrigerator before dumping it over the side of a hill had a history of domestic violence.

Roger David Stroud, 39, of Kermit, was arrested late Tuesday, hours after family members found his wife, Vadie Michelle Stroud. He was charged with first-degree murder and felony concealment of a deceased human body. He was being held Wednesday at Southern Regional Jail. 

Michelle Stroud, 29, filed an emergency protective order against her husband in late April. Those charges were dismissed after neither party showed up to their hearing in family court, said Mingo County Magistrate Clerk Terry Sanders.

In addition, four separate domestic violence assault and battery charges were filed against Roger Stroud by his previous wife between January and March of 2007, according to information from Mingo County Magistrate Court.

Mingo County magistrates dismissed all four of those charges against Roger Stroud, although it was unclear if that was because no one showed up in court or the evidence wasn't substantial enough to enforce the charges.

Also, charges were brought against Stroud for violating a protective order against the same ex-wife, but that was also dismissed. Sanders would not release the name of Stroud's ex-wife.

Family members reported Michelle Stroud missing on Monday afternoon after she didn't return from dropping her son off at school in Kermit. Her car was found  about five miles from her house.

According to the criminal complaint, Roger Stroud drove his wife to a remote location after she dropped her son off. He said they started arguing and he walked back to his truck, put on a pair of gloves, got his .357 revolver out and shot his wife several times, according to the complaint.

He then stuffed her body into a refrigerator that was already in the bed of his truck and dumped it over a hill in the Newsome Ridge area, the complaint states.

When Michelle Stroud didn't come home that morning, her family alerted authorities and started searching the area for her.

Her husband, who was not involved with the search, was brought in for questioning and confessed to the killing, according to Mingo Sheriff Lonnie Hanna.

The couple was going through a divorce.

As a law enforcement officer, Hanna said it's exceptionally frustrating that there were potential warnings signs for the degree of violence Roger Stroud exhibited against his young wife.

"These woman will take up domestic violence petitions ... and then they just end up back at the same spot," he said. "It's just a social problem we have around here. A lot of women don't work and stay at home and they depend on the men.

"It just shows that he has a pattern of domestic violence," the sheriff said.

@tag:Reach Kathryn Gregory at kathr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5119.