Buzz
Most people associate human corpses with repulsion and unease, things we desperately wish to avoid. They serve as harsh reminders of our own unavoidable mortality, staring back at us with vacant, unblinking eyes. However, in certain situations, some individuals are capable of overcoming this fear. For instance, medical examiners and forensic pathologists are skilled professionals trained to look past their initial discomfort for a meaningful purpose.
While these professionals are simply performing a job they've been trained to do, there are others with stranger and less justifiable reasons for spending time around deceased bodies. Some may struggle to let go of loved ones they've lost, while others, like necrophiliacs, may find enjoyment in the presence of corpses. The difference between these two groups is largely defined by their intentions and the law. Here are ten individuals who lived with corpses for extended periods, often under strange circumstances.
10. Robert Calvin Mark
The first person on our list of corpse cohabitants is a man from Tennessee who had an unexpected visit from the police. Officers arrived at his door to arrest him for living with a deceased body in his home without notifying authorities, which is against the law in Tennessee. The arrest took place on December 3, 2018, after a welfare check request was made by a concerned individual.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents entered the home and discovered 72-year-old Dorris Ann Braithwaite lying dead on the floor. The resident, 64-year-old Robert Calvin Mark, was taken into custody and is being held on $750,000 bail for the crime of corpse abuse. Authorities believe that Dorris, Robert’s girlfriend, had been dead for weeks or even months, based on the advanced state of decomposition.
Neighbors reported that Robert was rarely seen, as he mostly kept to himself. They mentioned the only times they would encounter him was when he came out to smoke a cigarette. Eerie.
9. Robert James Kuefler
Robert James Kuefler, a man from Minnesota, was candid about his actions, admitting to living with not one, but two corpses for over a year. The bodies were those of his mother and his twin brother.
How Kuefler managed to conceal this disturbing reality would have remained a mystery had he not been so honest. He told authorities and reporters that he had written Christmas cards to other family members, explaining that both his mother and brother were in poor health and unable to communicate by phone, and surprisingly, the family accepted this explanation. He revealed that his mother passed away in August 2015, while his brother died a few months earlier, and he simply couldn't bring himself to let go. Deeply affected by the losses, he kept both bodies until his discovery in September 2016.
According to the police, the brother's body was mummified, and the mother's body had nearly turned into a skeleton by the time authorities arrived, as indicated by court documents. It took weeks to identify the bodies, but the medical examiner concluded that although the exact cause of death couldn't be determined, both individuals died of natural causes, and murder was ruled out.
8. Matthew Schmarr
In 2017, when authorities finally managed to unlock the door of a New Jersey residence belonging to Matthew Schmarr, they were completely unprepared for the shocking scene they would encounter. Inside, they found two beds facing each other: one occupied by 35-year-old Matthew Schmarr and the other by the lifeless body of a 52-year-old woman, who had been dead for three days.
The story behind this discovery is tragically complicated. On March 18, Schmarr was babysitting for a friend when he chose to drive to another town to purchase various drugs, including crack and heroin, leaving the child in the care of the 52-year-old woman. When Schmarr returned, the woman was still alive, but by the time the child’s mother picked the child up, Schmarr had realized that the woman had passed away.
Following her death, Schmarr attempted to stage the scene to make it appear as though the woman had committed suicide. He also sold the woman’s laptop in an attempt to eliminate evidence and possibly earn some money. When police arrived at the residence, no one responded to their calls. They obtained a key from a neighbor and entered the home to uncover the horrifying discovery.
7. Doris Kirby
Not all those who live with deceased bodies are men, and it's not always done intentionally or consciously. Sometimes, the elderly find themselves in such a situation entirely by accident, tragically unable to prevent it. This was the case for Doris Kirby, whose husband passed away in 2014 after enduring several health issues. The couple had lived in poor health in Alabama, and she remained by his side until his death.
Doris Kirby was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and her husband had been caring for her at home. After his death, Doris was too far advanced in her condition to understand what had happened, and she lived with his body for months before a wellness check by the police. When they peered through a window into the house, they discovered the dead man inside. They also found two dogs that had starved to death. Doris, in the final stages of Alzheimer’s, couldn’t manage without her husband. Yet, they remained together as long as they could, which seems to hold a certain emotional significance.
6. Rhode Island Man
In a similarly heartbreaking event, about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) away, a 71-year-old man in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease called the fire department. The reason for his call remains unclear, but upon their arrival, the fire department discovered the lifeless body of his wife, who had been dead for at least two days in the basement. The man was living with her corpse, completely unaware of her death.
Once again, authorities found a dead dog in the basement. However, there were no signs of foul play, and it was presumed that both the dog and the 67-year-old woman had died of natural causes. The man had simply stayed with them afterward, unaware of their passing.
5. David Hall
A man from Monroe County, Michigan, was arrested after living with the body of his deceased girlfriend for a month. David Hall, aged 49, had been living with 56-year-old Kandance Simmons, who passed away in December 2017. The authorities didn’t discover the body until January 2018. Simmons had a history of health problems, and the police found no signs of foul play or violence. Nevertheless, David chose to keep her body locked away in his bedroom.
Upon entering the apartment, police found Kandance’s lifeless body on the bed. David Hall was arrested and charged with concealing a death. Authorities reported that David had no clear explanation for why he kept his girlfriend’s body in his home for a month without notifying anyone.
4. Alfred Guerrero
In October 2015, police responded to a call reporting a strong, unpleasant odor coming from a hotel room in Ontario, California. Upon their arrival, the man who had lived there for over two years, Alfred Guerrero, answered the door. The officers questioned him about the smell and noticed flies swarming the room. Guerrero refused to answer their questions, prompting them to take him outside and search the hotel room.
Inside, they discovered a dead body in the room and immediately called detectives to investigate. The body had been there for several days, and although there were no clear signs of how the person died, it was suspicious that he refused to speak to the police. Despite the odd circumstances, the authorities released Guerrero without pressing charges.
3. Belgian Woman
The Belgian authorities decided not to disclose the name of the woman involved, but the deceased man was identified as Marcel H. He had been found mummified, a sad reflection of both his and his wife’s grief. Marcel passed away in November 2012, and his wife, aged 69, couldn’t bear to let him go. She kept him with her for a whole year, treating him as though he were still alive. She allowed him to ‘sleep’ in their bed, maintaining the illusion that nothing had changed, as if he were still a living, breathing person.
During this time, the woman hadn’t paid the rent for over a year. Marcel’s body mummified in the bed, and by that point, it no longer emitted any smell. She had dressed him and laid him in bed next to her, where she continued to sleep. She didn’t care about anything else. The only thing that mattered was keeping him with her, just as he had been before his death. Marcel H. spent both his life and his death alongside his living wife.
2. Dennis McCauley
In April 2013, a Michigan man was caught off guard when the police knocked on his door with questions. Dennis McCauley, aged 64, was arrested after authorities discovered he had been living with his deceased girlfriend for several months. He faced charges for failing to report her death, as well as for larceny, forgery (also known as uttering and publishing), and identity theft for collecting and using her Social Security checks.
When a concerned friend noticed Ann Marquis hadn’t been around for months, she grew worried that something had happened. She asked Dennis McCauley about her whereabouts. McCauley claimed that Ann had simply moved out. After Ann's death, McCauley struggled to keep up with the bills, and for months, her body remained inside the trailer. Eventually, a court officer came to deliver an eviction notice but when no one answered, he peered through the window and discovered her decomposing body sitting inside.
1. Michael Eugene Sticken
On May 13, 2015, police were called to the home of Joyce Willis, who shared her residence with her son, Michael Eugene Sticken, a Florida man. As soon as they approached the door, they were hit with a nauseating odor that instantly alerted them something was terribly wrong. Upon entering, they found Joyce, 81, lifeless on the couch. The scene was eerily reminiscent of a moment straight from the movie Psycho.
It was later revealed that Michael had kept his mother’s body in the house to continue collecting her Social Security payments. An autopsy was performed by the medical examiner, who determined that she had been dead for at least one month, but no more than four months. Michael Eugene Sticken was arrested and taken into custody at the county jail.
