Body found during service of eviction notice; man arrested for allegedly collecting dead mother’s Social Security benefits
UPDATE 6/1/23 @ 9:25 p.m.
KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A man faces charges in connection with allegedly taking his late mother’s Social Security benefits for his own benefit, according to court records from Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Michael R. Johnson, 41, of Belle, is charged with obtaining money, property and services by false pretenses, and disposing of property to defraud creditors. He was arrested Thursday.
According to the criminal complaint, Johnson collected nearly $1,000 a month of his late mother’s benefits -- totaling nearly $5,000 to $6,000 since her death in December 2022.
On Thursday morning, investigators found a decomposed body where Johnson lives in the 400 block of 5th Street in Belle. They were serving an eviction notice at the time. The body was so decomposed that investigators couldn’t determine the gender.
“The individual we have detained was living here,” Sean Snuffer, Chief of Detectives with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said. “He was staying at the house while the decomposing body was at the house.”
According to the criminal complaint, Johnson had been living with his mother for two to three years. Neighbors told investigators the woman, identified by the sheriff’s office as Peggy Johnson, had not been seen for several months.
“I just can’t see how someone could live in a house with a decomposed body in it,” neighbor Norm Atkins said.
Johnson was taken to the South Central Regional Jail. He is being held on $2,500 bond.
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ORIGINAL STORY
KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A man has been detained after a body was found during an eviction notice Thursday morning, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said.
Belle Police made the discovery around 10 a.m. in the 400 block of 5th Street in Belle. They found a decomposed body while going through the home and contacted the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office for backup.
Investigators found a man hiding inside in a closet. A sheriff’s office detective said that man was living there at the time.
Detectives say charges are expected to be filed against that man.
Due to the severity of the decomposition, the gender of the person who died isn’t known. The body will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office.
“We can confirm the investigation is being treated as suspicious,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
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