Man Charged With Hiding Body of UM-Morris Student

ALEXANDRIA (AP) — A 21-year-old man is charged with a gross misdemeanor after authorities say he hid the body of a University of Minnesota-Morris student who died after they injected methamphetamine.

Douglas County Attorney Chad Larson charged Nickolas McArdell on Monday with interfering with a dead body. McArdell remains in jail.

McArdell is accused of hiding the body of 18-year-old freshman Laura Ann Schwendemann of Starbuck in a cornfield. A farmer found Schwendemann's body on Oct. 27, nearly two weeks after she went missing.

According to the complaint, McArdell told investigators he and Schwendemann were driving around on Oct. 14 and injecting meth when she died. Toxicology tests found meth in her system.

The prosecutor earlier said McArdell won't be prosecuted for causing Schwendemann's death, since the evidence does not support the charge.