Police: Ukiah woman hid mother's skeletal remains for a decade to collect benefits

UKIAH -- A Ukiah woman, who passed away last month, may have hid her mother's skeletal remains for a decade to collect her benefits and plunder her bank account.

Ukiah police said the mysterious circumstances around the elderly woman's death began to unravel last month when the daughter died and her brother arrived from outside the state to wrap up her estate.

In a call to police, the brother explained that his elderly mother had been residing in the same Ukiah home as his sister when he last had contact with his mother in 2013.

In August 2013 he was advised that his mother had passed away. His mother had been in poor health, so being told of her death did not arouse suspicion. He was advised by his sister that his mother's remains had been transported to a medical research facility in accordance with her wishes.

Meanwhile, his sister continued to live at the same Ukiah residence following their mothers passing.

During his check of the residence after his sister's death, he found numerous financial documents in his mother's name, including recent banking and checking account activity.

This seemed odd to him as his mother's accounts should have been closed for approximately 10 years.

During the investigation detectives learned that there was no official record of the mother's passing, such as a death certificate, as would normally be done for any reported death. Based on the recent banking activity and lack of any documentation of the mother's death, it was suspected that the sister had possibly hidden the death from officials in order to keep her mother's accounts open.

As part of the investigation, a search of the property was conducted. Skeletal remains were located. These remains were then collected by the coroner's office and later positively identified as the mother's. The county forensic pathologist examined the remains and determined the cause of death to be natural.

Due to the fact the sister was now deceased, a lack of additional investigative leads, and no evidence supporting a homicide, the
case is no longer under investigation.