Paducah man accused of murder at downtown motel

A Paducah man is behind bars, accused of killing a woman in a motel on Broadway.

Paducah Police arrested 41-year-old Marcos A. Rios Wednesday, before he could flee to Mexico. When he was apprehended, Rios had a bus ticket and allegedly told police he was planning to leave town.

Rios is accused of killing 55-year-old Tonia R. Cornwell of Paducah. 

Police were called to the Deluxe Inn after a maintenance man found a body under a mattress in a second-floor room. Detectives determined the victim was Cornwell. A review of surveillance video showed Rios, Cornwell, and another woman enter the room. The other woman was seen leaving. Rios was seen leaving some time later, but Cornwell was not seen again.

The investigation led to Rios, who was the person registered to the room. During an interview with detectives, Rios claimed to be Cornwell's boyfriend. He allegedly told them they argued and he strangled her, stabbed her, and tried to hide her body.

An autopsy at the state medical examiner's office in Louisville confirmed the strangulation and suggested the stabbing was after she died.

Rios has been charged with murder/domestic violence and abuse of a corpse.