The murder of Janet Brusseau by her boyfriend, John Mooney, is highlighted in the latest episode of Secrets of the Morgue on Investigation Discovery.
In December 1997, Brusseau and Mooney got into an argument at the home they shared in Chester, Nebraska, that led to Mooney picking up a tire iron and striking Brusseau several times in the head.
Afterward, Mooney left the home, but when he returned, he realized Brusseau was dead.
She was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood.
That’s when he dragged the 55-year-old’s body and hid it in the attached garage behind her van.
Mooney cleaned up the crime scene before leaving the house, and he later moved to Oceanside, California.
Two months later, Brusseau’s mummified body was discovered by her neighbors who immediately alerted police.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelHer remains were transported to the state’s medical examiner’s office, where it was determined that her cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head and asphyxiation.
An investigation led to Mooney’s arrest in March 2003.
He was charged with first-degree murder.
Mooney initially said he was innocent, but he later pled no contest to second-degree murder.
Court documents show that Mooney ultimately confessed to killing his girlfriend. He said the incident unfolded after she struck him with a broken broom handle.
A year later, he asked the judge to throw out his confession as he claimed he wasn’t read his Miranda Rights.
District Judge Paul W. Korslund denied his request and opted to use his confession as evidence.
In 2004, Mooney was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Secrets of the Morgue — A Modern Mummy, airs at 10:00 pm on Investigation Discovery.