No Charges In Novato Backyard Body Case
NOVATO (CBS / AP) -- A Marin County woman won't be charged with a crime for the backyard burial of her 74-year-old husband.
55-year-old Evelyn Smith had been described as a person of interest in the death of Dale Smith, whose body was found on Feb. 23 underneath a barbecue pit she built in the couple's Novato yard.
The Marin County coroner couldn't determine a cause of death because the body was decomposed.
Evelyn Smith's lawyer Hugh Levine told the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday that charges will not be filed.
She never reported him missing. The childless couple was married for 18 years.
A neighbor notified police that Smith had disappeared and Evelyn Smith gave the FBI permission to search the backyard.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
