Joann Nichols was reported missing in 1985 and her body was found behind a false wall in her late husband's house.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (CNN) -- A woman who had been reported missing by her husband 28 years ago was found last week when a contractor discovered her wrapped skeleton behind a 'false wall' in the basement of their home, police said.
Joann Nichols' remains were found inside a large plastic bin, inside a plastic bag and wrapped in a sheet, said Dr. Kari Reiber, the Dutchess County medical examiner.
"The body was skeletonized and the hands were tied with rope. ... A large area of the right side of the skull was also missing," Reiber said.
Sealing the body in the plastic bin behind a false wall might have been enough to mask the smell as the body decomposed, she said.
Members of the medical examiner's office removed the body after it was found Friday and were able to identify Nichols through dental records. An autopsy showed the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, according to Reiber.
Nichols, a 55-year-old former first-grade teacher at Gayhead Elementary School in Hopewell Junction New York, was reported missing on Dec. 21, 1985, by her husband, James Nichols.
Police said he called in the report after his wife didn't show up for a hair appointment at a beauty parlor earlier that day. The next day the couple's vehicle was discovered in the parking lot of a shopping center in the town.
Police Chief Thomas Mauro said an intensive investigation followed, but the woman was never located. The case had remained open since 1985 and was reviewed annually by police, he said.
James Nichols, 82, died in his home of natural causes last Dec. 27.
"It's now safe to say James Nichols is a suspect in this case," said police Capt. Paul LeComte.