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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A new report out of Isabella County indicates that a woman may have been dead for more than a year before her body was found inside her home last week.
The victim’s husband Terrell York was arrested last week at the home in Deerfield Township, about five miles northwest of Mount Pleasant. He has been charged with concealing the death of an individual. The felony charge carries a punishment up to five years in prison or a fine up to $5,000.
Police were originally sent to the home to conduct a welfare check on Patricia York. The Isabella County Sheriff’s Office said family members who had a falling out with Patricia York about two years ago were trying to reach her. They recently had become “increasingly concerned about her.” At the home, Terrell York told police that she no longer lived there and did not have a forwarding address.
Isabella County Prosecutor David Barberi told 9&10 News that police got a search warrant and found Patricia York’s body in a chest freezer in the home’s kitchen.
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“Compiling other information we received in the reports from friends and family and individuals, it seems to be a year or more that she was there,” Barberi said.
An autopsy will provide a better time frame of how and when Patricia York died. At this time, Barberi does not believe foul play was involved but York could face additional criminal charges if he continued to receive government benefits from his wife, including Social Security.
“That side of it will actually be through a federal case as far as the Social Security benefits and how they are handled,” Barberi told 9&10 News. “But we’re looking at other issues as it pertains to receiving state benefits and that’s something we could pursue.”
York’s bond was set at $5,000. As of Tuesday morning, he had not posted bail and remained at the Isabella County Jail.
