An upstate New York man has been accused of stashing his 98-year-old mother's dead body in a freezer in their home so he could keep cashing her Social Security checks.State police say they discovered Herta Auslander's body in a freezer chest in October after receiving a tip she had died more than a year earlier. An autopsy concluded she died of natural causes.
How sad. Hope his cell in Attica is not much larger than the freezer.
ReplyDeleteMy boss in San Luis Obispo, CA had a case like this. But without the freezer. Adult Protective Services (APS) discovered a dead body in a home shared by two women--a daughter and the deceased mother. The daughter was mentally impaired and apparently didn't know what to do when her mother and sole caretaker died. APS discovered the mother's death after a neighbor became concerned that the surviving daughter was becoming more and more disoriented. About 5years of benefits were involved as I recall. We also had a few cases in which directly deposited benefits for individuals supposedly living abroad were being used by relatives having access to the same account. We received anonymous tips in these cases, the relatives were prosecuted and repaid the benefits. No jail time. Quite common, actually. Our district was mid-sized. Larger districts have more cases of this type.
ReplyDeleteAlso sad, Ms Ortiz, but not criminal. If I ever have the misfortune to die alone in my house, I hope my neighbors don't wait 5 years to check on me or call someone!
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