A Florida woman is accused of hiding her roommate’s body so she could keep collecting his Social Security payments, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said Michelle, 48, admitted that she found her roommate Jon, 39, dead in their Bradenton mobile home back in July. According to reporting from Heavy, she hid his body first in a closet and later in a neighbor’s trash bin.
The body reportedly stayed in the closet for about three weeks before the smell became too strong to ignore. The New York Post reported that Michelle then told a neighbor she would come back for the trash bin, but she never returned.
Investigators said the neighbor assumed the sealed can held someone’s personal belongings and waited for it to be picked up. On Tuesday, December 8, the neighbor finally opened the bin, noticed a strong odor and called police.
Deputies said the 55 gallon trash can held Jon’s body in an advanced stage of decomposition. A press release from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said Michelle’s motive was to keep receiving his monthly payments.
She has been charged with abuse of a dead human body, and authorities said fraud charges could follow. Charges are allegations, and no response from Michelle or an attorney was included in the reports at the time of this story.
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