Woman Keeps Corpse in Home to Watch NASCAR, Keep Company
A Michigan woman is under investigation after police learned she was keeping the dead body of a partner in her home for companionship. The woman also cashed in on the man's benefits after he died in December 2010.
"It's not that I'm heartless," Linda Chase told the Jackson Citizen Patriot. "I didn't want to be alone. He was the only guy who was ever nice to me." Chase kept the body clean and in good condition in her home for the past two years. One of the couple's favorite activities? Watching NASCAR races.
According to Chase, Charles Zigler died of natural causes two years ago and she simply kept the corpse in her home, propped in a living room chair. Chase has not been arrested, but police are looking into financial fraud since she illegally cashed Zigler's benefit checks after he died.
"I'm going to prison. I told them [the police] the truth. I didn't lie about that," Chase explained. One person in particular is not happy about Chase's actions. Wally Zigler, Charles' son, was upset about being kept from his father's body.
"That wasn't right to leave him [laying] like that," he noted. Police are also describing the case as "bizarre" and have said that the investigation will take some time, due to the unique nature of the case.
Unfortunately, this is not the first case of a corpse being kept in the home long after death. Olive Maddock's daughter and granddaughter kept her body in her bedroom so that they could collect her benefits. Both women faced charges of financial fraud and improper handling of a body and were sentenced one year ago.
In 2009, Amy Blanche Stewart was charged with concealment of death after keeping the body of her mother in her home for months. It was unknown what made Stewart decide to keep her mother's body in the home.
