UPDATE 4/20/23 11:35 a.m.
The Isabella County Sheriff’s Office says Terrell York was charged on Wednesday for failing to report a dead body.
Deputies visited his home after his wife’s family said they hadn’t heard from her in nearly a year and were worried about her. They arrested York on another outstanding warrant, then searched his home and found his wife’s body in a chest freezer in the kitchen.
The Sheriff’s Office says they believe she’s been dead for months. The autopsy should confirm cause of death, and more charges could come if there is any evidence of foul play.
4/18/23 6:25 p.m.
Isabella County Sheriff Michael Main said Tuesday that a 54-year-old man was arrested and charged with failure to report a death after his missing wife was found in their Deerfield Township home.
Main said the sheriff’s office was recently contacted about the missing woman, a 67-year-old, by her family. The family had not kept in close contact with the woman and does not live in the area, but they became concerned after not hearing from her, Main said.
Deputies went to the woman’s home and spoke to a man who was identified as the spouse. Officials said they were told that the woman no longer lived there, but the man could not provide a current address for her.
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Main said deputies discovered the man had an outstanding warrant and arrested him, and they were able to obtain a search warrant for the home. The search led to the body of the woman, Main said, and it appeared she had been dead for “an unknown period of time.”
The Michigan State Police crime lab assisted at the scene, and autopsy results are pending. Main said the woman’s death possibly was of natural causes, but the husband has been charged with fraudulent activity and failure to report a death.
Officials have not released the names of the husband or wife.
The investigation is ongoing, Main said.
