Husband charged in Alexis Nelson homicide, body still missing

Alexis Nelson’s disappearance started as a missing-person case, but investigators now say it ended in a homicide charge against her husband, Aaron Nelson, while her body still has not been found. The 43-year-old Oakfield man was arrested May 15 and later charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse, a turn that left Alexis’s family still waiting for answers and a burial.

The timeline in the criminal complaint shows the case tightening around a short stretch in late March 2025. Alexis last spoke with her mother on March 25, and surveillance video reportedly placed Alexis and Aaron together at the Kwik Trip on North Center Street in Beaver Dam on March 29. The next day, March 30, Aaron Nelson bought a 32-gallon Rubbermaid Brute trash can at Menard’s in Beaver Dam using his debit card, according to court filings.

Investigators later said Alexis’s cellphone appeared to travel to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and searches in Beaver Dam and Rock County, Wisconsin, turned up no human remains. Prosecutors say a trash can found in a shed with Aaron Nelson’s property tested consistent with Alexis’s DNA, and no other male or female DNA profile was found on it. Investigators also said Alexis’s blood was found in a storage unit and in the trash can Aaron allegedly bought around the time she disappeared.

The arrest came after months of shifting explanations from Aaron Nelson, who allegedly told different people that Alexis had died from alcohol abuse, cancer, or that the couple had moved to Missouri. One report also said he created a new Facebook page listing himself as widowed, and that he later moved in with another woman in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. A witness and neighbor described hearing fighting in the building and said she only saw Alexis when Aaron was with her.

A public missing-endangered-person alert issued November 20, 2025, described Alexis as 5-foot-1, about 125 pounds, with pink and blue hair, and noted ties to Dodge and Rock counties. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation has been difficult for Alexis’s family and the community, but also said no further details would be released while the case is before the court.

At Aaron Nelson’s May 18 court appearance, the judge set cash bail at $1 million. A review hearing was scheduled for May 27, followed by a preliminary hearing on May 28, while the search for Alexis Nelson’s body remains open.