Man, afraid of becoming homeless, kept dead grandma in bags, police say
NEW YORK — Police say a New York man kept his grandmother’s corpse wrapped in plastic bags for about five months because he was afraid of losing his housing, reports CBS New York.
Christopher Fuhrer, 30, was arrested Thursday on several charges, including one count of improper burial.
Police said out-of-state relatives hadn’t heard from 85-year-old Erika Kraus-Breslin in months and requested officers do a wellness check at her home in the Ridgewood section of New York City’s Queens borough.
When officers arrived, police said they were met by Fuhrer who directed them to a bedroom where they found Kraus-Breslin’s body.
Police said Fuhrer told officers he covered Kraus-Breslin with plastic bags as the smell of her dead body worsened. They said Fuhrer tried to mask the smell with air fresheners and a fan in the upstairs bedroom of his grandmother’s home.
They said Fuhrer told responding officers he was worried that he would become homeless once his grandmother died. He was taken into custody and later arrested, police said.
The medical examiner has not yet determined how Kraus-Breslin died.