Three Cole County residents formally were charged Wednesday in connection with the finding of a woman's body near Russellville.
Susan Nicoloazzo, 52, and Bobby Kirchner, 41, both of Russellville, and Levi Holder, 28, Henley, were charged with one count each of abandonment of a corpse.
The charge is a Class D felony that, if there's a conviction, could result in a prison sentence of up to four years.
Each was being held Wednesday in the Cole County Jail on $100,000 bond.
The probable cause statement in each case said each suspect knew the victim, Samantha Rhein, 23, was dead and each admitted to helping move her body to another location.
Sheriff's department officials said Rhein's decomposing body was found in a wooded area off of Route AA, southeast of Russellville.
Authorities said a fourth suspect who originally had been taken into custody, a man, was released.
Autopsy results on Rhein's body, which was taken to Columbia for examination, still are pending. With that in mind, authorities said it is possible more charges and more arrests could be coming.
Rhein had been missing almost a week.
Rhein's mother asked the sheriff's department at 12:30 p.m. Monday to check on Samantha's well-being, reporting she got a text message from her daughter on Aug. 4, asking her mother to come get her.
But the mother had not heard anything since.
The sheriff's department started an investigation Monday afternoon and began running down leads, which led to the discovery of Rhein's body.
Sheriff's officials declined to say if there were any markings on the body that could give them information as to how Rhein died.
Authorities indicated Rhein's family is from Jasper County.
A check on the statewide court system, Casenet, showed that Rhein was facing charges from multiple counties in that area for crimes such as receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and tampering with a motor vehicle.
Authorities did not say whether those previous cases were connected with her being in Mid-Missouri or with her death.
Each of those cases listed Sarcoxie, the Jasper County seat, as Rhein's hometown.