Arizona Woman Kept Dead Body As A 'Shrine': Cops

Anitra Braxton is accused of shooting and killing an unidentified woman on Christmas Eve and keeping her body on a sofa in her apartment as a "a shrine from God."

Braxton, 39, who faces charges of first-degree premeditated murder, told police she killed the woman for "not believing in her God," according to a copy of the police report obtained by Phoenix's KNXV-TV.

Authorities arrested Braxton on Saturday, after witnesses contacted Phoenix police and told them there was a dead body inside her apartment. When authorities arrived on the scene, Braxton initially denied the allegations and said she lived alone, police said.

"As officers [looked] through the door, they could see what appeared to be a deceased female on a sofa which had been covered with a towel," Sergeant Trent Crump, of the Phoenix Police Department, told The Huffington Post. "The suspect was detained at that time and a search warrant was obtained for the residence."

When officers entered Braxton's apartment, they discovered the victim had been shot in the head.

"During the interview, the suspect did admit involvement in the crime and indicated to our detectives that it occurred sometime on the 24th of December," Crump told HuffPost.

Authorities are still trying to identify the victim, who is described as a heavyset, middle-aged African American female. The woman had no identification and her fingerprints were not found in any law enforcement database.

Braxton allegedly refuses to provide investigators with any information on the victim. When asked who the woman is, she gives them her own name, police said.

According to The Arizona Republic, Braxton is a three-time felon, who has prior arrests for burglary, drugs and forgery.

Family members reportedly told Phoenix's KPHO-TV that Braxton suffers from mental illness.

Braxton is being held in jail in lieu of $750,000 bail. She is scheduled to appear in court for a status conference on Jan. 4.

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