Living Months With Corpse: Elderly Man Found Living With 6 Month Old Corpse
A man was living months with a corpse, according to Detroit area police in a report out Friday.
Authorities have described that an elderly man was recently found living in a Detroit area trailer home with the decomposing corpse of a 72 year old woman. It is believed that the woman had been dead for about six months at the time the body was found.
Dennis McCauley, 64, had been served with an eviction notice recently, and on Monday officers visited the trailer at Long's Mobile Home Court in Redford Township, west of Detroit, and found the decomposing corpse.
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Redford Township police Sgt. Kevin Crittenden said Friday, "The officer noted a pungent smell of decay and observed a corpse in the room immediately to the right of the front door. He called us. The corpse had obviously been deceased for some time and was partially dried out," according to The Associated Press.
The man has reported that the woman was Ann Marquis, but he denies killing her, authorities have reported. Preliminary autopsy results have seemingly confirmed this, finding that she died of natural causes. Toxicology results will take longer to give more accurate and definitive conclusions.
The trailer was leased in Marquis' name, and authorities have determined that the woman and man were living together: "We know they lived together about three years," Crittenden said, according to AP. "Based on witness statements and other statements it would appear Ann Marquis died sometime in November."
McCauley has been charged with failing to report a death, mutilation of a corpse, larceny, uttering and publishing involving social security checks, identity theft and other charges. He was arraigned on Monday during a hearing.
Crittenden explained the mutilation charge, saying: "When we found the body, the upper arm was separated from the right shoulder."
The autopsy indicated that the arm had been separated from the shoulder after the woman died.
McCauley is currently being held at the Wayne County Jail on a $250,000 bond.
