Bill Sheridan

A Danish Priest has been arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, who has been missing since October of 2020.

According to the Associated Press, the charges against Thomas Gotthard, 44, a Lutheran priest permitted to marry, were filed after an assessment found that the evidence against him was “sufficiently weighty to be able to prosecute.” This despite never having found the woman’s body.

Although investigators don’t have a corpse and ”hence a probable a method of murder, we have found evidence that is sufficient to us,” Prosecutor Anne-Mette Seerup said,

According to Gotthard, his wife Maria From Jakobsen left the couple’s home in Frederikssund, northwest of Copenhagen, on Oct. 26, in a depressed state of mind.

However, when the 43-year-old psychologist didn’t show up at the birthday party of one of the couple’s two children three days later, she was reported missing by her sister. Police said From Jakobsen left her phone, computer, and credit cards behind.

Gotthard’s arrest three weeks after her disappearance made news in the country of nearly 6 million, where a majority belongs to the state Lutheran church.

He was detained after investigators found hydrochloric acid and caustic soda in the couple’s home and discovered that internet searches for words like “sea depth,” “oil barrels,” “suicide,” “disappeared,” and “cleaning” had been made on the couple’s computer.

In a Nov. 6 surveillance video from a recycling station, Gotthard was seen moving a large barrel on a hand truck. That was 11 days after his wife disappeared and ten days before his arrest. The blue bin had been wrapped in clear plastic.

As the search for the missing woman’s body continues, investigators have extensively searched a forest and lake in the area and have asked anyone who may have seen the family’s two cars and a trailer around the time she disappeared to contact authorities.

Gotthard is currently in police custody and has denied any wrongdoing in the case. His trial is slated to begin on Oct. 25.