A 60-something, unemployed (for 30+ years) man lived with his elderly mother who lived on some rural property. Friends became concerned when they hadn’t seen the mother for a longer period of time—they notified the police.
The police responded to the property and inquired about his mother’s whereabouts. Her son told them she’d gone on a trip with friends, and she’d been gone for quite some time, but he didn’t remember the names of her friends.
Prior to his mother’s ‘trip’ her doctor was treating her for a stroke. Her son became suspicious of the prescribed medications and stopped giving them to her.
A search of the property found no evidence of any remains. However, cadaver dogs picked up a scent in a specific area where a neighbor had seen a pile of lime.
The police requested assistance from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) to track the mother’s monthly payments. From the last time friends had seen her, her checks continued to be automatically deposited into her joint account shared with her son. These transactions ran for six years with no known whereabouts on the mother.
The authorities arrested him for stealing over $30,000 of his missing mother’s Social Security Benefits.
At the sentencing hearing, a federal judge announced his intent to sentence the man but gave him one week to give the location of his presumed deceased mother. He said nothing.
The judge sentenced him to 15 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and pay the stolen money in restitution to the SSA.
The mother’s missing person case is still open. If more evidence were to be found, her son can still be charged with her death.
Have you ever heard of The Charley Project? It’s a database of cold case, missing persons who are often forgotten by the press sue to lack of activity. Check this case and others out: The Charley Project
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, The Charley Project