FORT WORTH — A 43-year-old Fort Worth woman whose decomposing body was found hidden inside her garage in January -- almost two months after she'd been reported missing -- died from ligature strangulation, the Tarrant County medical examiner's office has ruled.
Matthew William Woychik, 21, is accused of strangling Tammy Marie Bates with a belt or with his hands, according to court documents.Family members had last heard from Bates on Nov. 16, when she mentioned she was letting a man stay in her rental house in exchange for helping her with the bills.Two days later, Woychik posted two videos on YouTube that had been taken inside Bates' living room. In the second video, in which Woychik rants about another woman whom he claims is seeking a restraining order against him, Bates' cellphone can be heard ringing unanswered in the background.Bates' ex-boyfriend discovered the woman's severely decomposed body wrapped in blankets after going to the rental house in the 9900 block of Lone Eagle Drive in west Fort Worth on Jan. 27 to help clean it out, family members have said.Woychik was arrested in Lee County, Miss., on Feb. 11 and charged with murder on Feb. 20. He remained held in Mississippi Monday, awaiting extradition to Texas.Illinois records show Woychik was arrested in October in Cook County, Ill., on a bond forfeiture warrant in connection with a misdemeanor domestic battery charge involving the woman whom he had ranted about in his second YouTube video.According to a Crestwood Police Department report, officers dispatched March 23 to a report of a suicidal person spotted Woychik walking on a road with multiple cuts on his left forearm.At a nearby apartment that Woychik had just left, a woman told police that Woychik had begun strangling her after becoming upset that she was talking to another man on the Internet.Witnesses said afterward that Woychik stated he needed a knife because he "screwed up." He then found a razor blade and began cutting his left forearm, witnesses told police.In a subsequent interview with police, Woychik admitted grabbing the woman by the throat. He said he then cut his wrist because he was upset about hurting her, the report states.Deanna Boyd, (817) 390-7655Twitter: @deannaboydHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
