Overview
- Police arrested Dwight “DJ” Rust Jr. after a grand jury charged him with first-degree murder in the disappearance of his wife, Michelle Rust, and he is being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center.
- The case centers on Michelle’s 2002 disappearance from Arbutus, when she was reported missing after leaving home to buy items for their young son’s birthday party.
- During the original search, her father-in-law found her green Dodge van on Zion Road with a key broken off in the driver’s door lock.
- The indictment remains under seal and investigators have not shared a motive, with officials describing the matter as an active, developing case.
- Detectives revisited the file in 2023, concluded foul play, used ground-penetrating radar near the home, and ruled out her biological parents, steps that renewed the family’s hope for answers.