Family: Victim believed wife trying to poison him

The sister of a 50-year-old airplane mechanic found dead in the Johnson Lane area said the victim believed his wife Karen was trying to poison him.

In a statement to deputies investigating the disappearance of Robin Bodden, 50, the victim's sister said Bodden complained that for the past six months, he became ill every time he ate his wife's cooking.

He said he immediately felt better when he stopped eating food she prepared.

Robin Bodden's badly-decomposed body was found Sept. 10 near Johnson Lane.

Law enforcement officers have not determined the cause of death and Karen Bodden has not been charged in connection with the death.

According to court documents, the sister also told investigators that Robin Bodden canceled a large insurance policy his wife reportedly took out on him in 2004.

The Boddens were married in 2000.

Karen Bodden, 43, is to appear in East Fork Justice Court this morning. She is being held without bail in Douglas County Jail, accused of taking thousands of dollars from her husband's business and using his credit card without permission.

She hired Carson City lawyer Robert Ben Walker who represented her in a DMV embezzlement case.

Walker said Tuesday he was not ready to comment on the case.

"I just came into the case, and haven't see all the reports yet," he said. "I'm just not ready to say anything.

She was accused of making illegal transactions from Jan. 1 through Aug. 26, the day before her 50-year-old husband was reported missing by his sister.

She is serving four years probation, convicted in 2004 of embezzling $44,000 from the Department of Motor Vehicles, her former employer, according to court documents.

According to court documents, the crimes Karen Bodden is accused of came to light while investigators were examining her husband's financial records to determine if there had been activity since his disappearance.

They found a check purporting to have Robin Bodden's signature signed six days after his disappearance. His credit card was used eight days after his disappearance to purchase a generator.

Robin Bodden's body was identified Monday by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office Forensic Science Division using DNA.

Sheriff Ron Pierini said it could take up to two months to determine the cause of death.

Authorities estimated the badly-decomposed body had been in the wilderness for up to three weeks.

"We're still investigating Mr. Bodden's death as if it were a homicide, and we always do on cases like this," Pierini said.

"We have a couple of detectives assigned to the case and will continue to do so until the information from the coroner gives us direction as to the actual cause."

Pierini said Bodden's family was devastated by the news.

"You always hope for the best, but in this case it turned out to be him," Pierini said.

According to court records, Robin Bodden was reported missing Aug. 27 by his sister who lives in Carson City. She told investigators she had not heard from him for 10 days.

Robin Bodden owned General Aviation Services at Minden-Tahoe Airport.

Karen Bodden told deputies she and her husband had argued and he took off Aug. 16 in a plane with a man named "Ramos." Robin Bodden did not have a pilot's license.

She said her husband returned the next day, picked up clothes and personal items at their home, and left after another argument.

She said she didn't report him missing because she claimed they argued frequently in the past and he left for extended periods.

According to court documents, friends said Robin Bodden knew his wife was taking money from his business, but said if he filed a police report, she would lose her probation and go to prison.

In the charges filed Sept. 12, she was accused of embezzling money from General Aviation Services, cashing two checks totaling $10,195 that she wrote against her own business, Pond Goddess, and purchasing a $449 generator with his credit card eight days after he disappeared.

YOU CAN HELP

Anyone with information about the disappearance and death of Robin Bodden is asked to contact Investigator Ron Elges at 782-9905 or Secret Witness at 78-CRIME.