Son lived for months alongside body of his decomposing mom, Florida cops say

An observant landlord helped lead police to a body after noting one of the tenants hadn’t been seen for a suspiciously long amount of time, Florida investigators say.

Turns out the woman was dead and her 67-year-old son was trying to keep her body hidden, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.

“On April 6, a landlord called police to check on an elderly tenant ... because they had not been able to contact her for several months,” police said in an April 9 news release.

“Officers responded and spoke to her adult son (who) said his mother was visiting a friend’s home and would be back in a day or two.”

Officers returned the next day and asked again to speak to her. When that proved impossible, a search was conducted, leading officers to “her body in an advanced stage of decomposition,” police said.

Details of where her body was kept in the home were not released.

A “preliminary autopsy” was performed and it showed no evidence of her death being linked to “trauma or foul play,” police said.

However, her son was taken into custody after police found he had an outstanding 2013 arrest warrant “for failure to appear on a theft charge,” officials said.

Jail records show he lived at the single-family home with his mother.

“This is an active investigation and additional charges could be forthcoming,” police said.

St. Petersburg is about a 25-mile drive southwest from Tampa.

This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Son lived for months alongside body of his decomposing mom, Florida cops say."