A New York woman allegedly concealed her boyfriend’s dead body in their home’s basement for months, while she used his Social Security checks to splash out on shopping sprees.
New York woman poured bleach on boyfriend’s body keep it from smelling
Kenneth Crisman a replacement debit card for his benefits in December 2022 and four days later he was dead.
63-year-old Wendy and her son found Crisman’s body a few days later and decided not to report his death so she could collect his Social Security benefits.
Stone wrapped his body in plastic and placed it in a recycling bin in their Rochester home’s basement.
To keep the rotting corpse of her boyfriend from stinking up the place, she “periodically poured bleach on Crisman’s body between January and September 2023 to prevent foul odor.”
Crisman passed away on December 28, 2022, but a new PIN was activated on his debit card on January 6, 2023, and new charges were made the next day.
By January 15, the card’s balance had been run through from purchases at a restaurant, Walmart, The Home Depot, Staples, and ATM withdrawals.
Stone allegedly took $7,902 of Crisman’s benefits from January and September 2023.
In March, his card was used to open a Rent-A-Center account with charges totaling to $1,815.05.
Stone was caught on camera making making ATM withdrawals of $400 and $300 on June 6, 2023.
She and her son were seen in surveillance footage using the card to foot their bill at a Walmart in Greece, New York, on August 10, 2023
In January of this year, Stone falsely reported that no one had moved in or out of her residence, including births or deaths, since December 2021, and that no one helped pay her bills or rent since that time.
Because she was illegally using Crisman’s benefits the Social Security Administration determined that Stone has been ineligible to collect her own from his death on December 28, 2022, through September 2023.
On Monday, Wendy Stone, 63, was charged with theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and making false statements to get her hands on Crisman’s Social Security benefits.
These charges could lead to up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Man imprisons woman in closet to collect her Social Security checks
A Michigan man is behind bars for allegedly imprisoning a woman in a closet for several months and torturing her, while illegally collecting her government benefits.
Authorities arrested 34-year-old Darren John Dawson on Wednesday and charged him with torture, unlawful imprisonment, and larceny of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000.
According to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, from November 2023 to April 2024, Dawson confined an unnammed 58-year-old woman in a closet at his apartment.
“The victim endured unimaginable suffering in what can only be described as a living nightmare,” Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido said in a statement.
“Our office is committed to seeking justice for her, and we will pursue every avenue to ensure this individual is held fully accountable for the alleged crimes committed.”
During the five months of captivity, prosecutors allege that Dawson repeatedly tortured the victim while collecting her food stamps and Social Security checks.
“This is bizarre,” said Lucido said about the situation. “That’s how animals are treated. They’re put in pens, but they’re not tortured. That’s the difference. In fact, this is worse treatment than an animal.”
Dawson’s captivity and treatment of the woman reportedly stemmed from a “drug debt,” but details of the alleged amount owed were not released.
Dawson pleaded not guilty to the charges during his first court appearance on Thursday. He was ordered to be held on $1 million cash or surety bond.
If he somehow manages to drum up the bond money, the judge mandated that he must wear a GPS tracker and stay away from the victim and avoid possessing any firearms.
Dawson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if he is convicted of torturing the woman. The unlawful imprisonment charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years.
His next court date, a probable cause conference, is scheduled for August 20.
Son keeps dad’s dead body in chained fridge to collect benefits
Elsewhere in Texas, deputies found a decomposing body inside a refrigerator secured with chains during a welfare check on an elderly man who hadn’t been seen in months.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said deputies went to the man’s home last week and spoke to someone claiming to be him through a doorbell camera.
“But the deputy got the sense it was not him,” Salazar remarked. “Later on in the day, he was able to get in touch with some family members who said ‘That voice on that Ring is not our father.’”
With the family’s assistance, deputies were able to gain entry into the home, where they discovered 48-year-old David Michael Gibson, the man’s son.
While searching for Gibson’s elderly father, deputies found a fridge that was chained shut. When they opened it, human remains were discovered inside.
One of the unfortunate family members was the one who saw a human head was in the fridge and quickly shut the door.
San Antonio CBS affiliate KENS reported that family members who saw the fridge immediately noticed a human head when they opened the door and quickly shut it. Deputies then evacuated everyone to establish a crime scene.
Salazar mentioned that the dead body was “badly decomposed,” but authorities will not be able to determine if the victim was murdered until an autopsy is performed.
Gibson seems to have been living with his father’s dead dead body for months, and was allegedly cashing checks from his father’s Social Security and military pension.
He was arrested and taken to the Bexar County Jail on charges of tampering with a corpse. He is being held on a $250,000 bond.
