A woman recently convicted of attempting to poison her neighbors with ricin in Wisconsin is now facing extradition to Oklahoma, where authorities say she murdered and dismembered her roommate in one of the most disturbing cases they’ve ever encountered.
Kore Bommelli Adams, 63, was found guilty in June in Dane County, Wisconsin, on two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Prosecutors revealed she had attempted to kill a couple in 2014 by secretly spreading the deadly poison ricin throughout their home, placing it in their bed, sock drawer, and office while they were away on vacation.
Assistant Dane County District Attorney Jack Schneider did not mince words during the trial. “No one is putting ricin in someone’s bed, in their sock drawer, in their office, if you’re not trying to kill them,” he said. “There’s no conceivable reason to put ricin in someone’s house other than to cause their death.”
Authorities were led to Adams in Wisconsin while investigating a separate and much darker case in Oklahoma. On April 17, 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adams reported her roommate, Talina Galloway, missing in Wagoner County. She claimed Galloway had tested positive for COVID-19 and had chosen to isolate near a lake, according to the Law and Crime.
However, investigators quickly found inconsistencies. There was no evidence that Galloway had been tested or had sought medical care. Her disappearance remained a mystery until January 2021, when her dismembered remains were discovered inside a freezer left in a wooded area near Mena, Arkansas, nearly 150 miles from her home.
The freezer was located after a tip was given to the Polk County, Arkansas, Sheriff’s Office, which had previously received a complaint about a trailer emitting a foul odor in June 2020. The remains were later identified as Galloway, according to Memphis-based Fox affiliate WHBQ.
Investigators in Wagoner County noted that Adams gave conflicting statements and was eventually deemed deceptive. “Timelines were examined, investigated, and verified,” the sheriff’s office said. “Investigators soon realized that Kore Bommeli knew much more than she was sharing.”
Adams stopped cooperating and left the state. She was later found in Dane County, Wisconsin, where she was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and desecration of a human corpse in connection with Galloway’s death. Authorities have not yet revealed what connected Adams to the 2014 Wisconsin poisoning case or what may have motivated either crime.
Wagoner County District Attorney Jack Thorp described Galloway’s murder as one of the most horrifying cases he’s encountered. “Talina Galloway died a brutal death,” he said. “The grisly manner in which Galloway was dismembered and disposed of makes this case one of the worst I have seen in my career.”