COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A southwest Ohio man who attempted to frame a Kentucky man for the murder of an Indiana woman is behind bars after a lengthy investigation.

According to the Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office in Indiana, law enforcement officers responded to a home on Hickory Drive in Hanover, Indiana to perform a welfare check. A woman was found stabbed to death inside her residence.

The woman, who was identified as 35-year-old Wilma Robertson, was pronounced dead on April 14 and an investigation led to an arrest the following day.

That suspect, Shawn Bailey, 33, of Louisville, was in custody for 10 days before being released after additional DNA analysis excluded him as a suspect. But law enforcement initially followed online evidence that led to his arrest.

It was revealed that an Oxford, Ohio man, Nigel Thomas, had stabbed Robertson in her home before allegedly engaging in an elaborate plan to frame Bailey for her death. Thomas, who goes by the name, “Nati Bang”, reportedly fabricated evidence to incriminate Bailey, including the creation of several social media accounts in Bailey’s name.

The prosecutor’s office said Thomas used those accounts to send messages to relatives of Robertson, claiming to have murdered her.

Once new DNA evidence was collected, Bailey was exonerated and released from jail. Thomas was arrested on April 25 and charged with murder. He is being held at Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio, while awaiting extradition to Jefferson County, Indiana.

“Multiple agencies across three states worked tirelessly in their pursuit of all investigative leads to uncover the crimes of Nigel Thomas and clear Shawn Bailey”, said Jefferson County Prosecutor David Sutter.