A man in Paintsville is facing charges of abuse of a corpse, failure to report a death, theft by unlawful taking, and possession of forged instrument after investigators say they found he had been keeping his mother’s body for months after she passed away.
According to the Paintsville Police Department, on October 19, at around 11:39 a.m., they were called for a welfare check at a residence on Andrea Circle.
When officers arrived, they spoke to a member of the family who explained that their cousin, John Carroll, had stated his mother had passed away around a week earlier and the body was still inside the home.
Officers located the deceased inside the home and began processing the scene and initiating an investigation.
During that process, investigators discovered the deceased had passed away approximately 4 months before police were called.
On Monday, detectives arrested John Carroll at a Buffalo Wild Wings and transferred him to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.
Investigators say more charges could be filed in the future.
