Tenn. caregiver accused of burying deceased mother-in-law in garden, stealing her money
10/25/2022 11:35 am PDT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (TCD) -- A caregiver was arrested and charged after his missing 83-year-old mother-in-law’s body was discovered buried in her garden.
On March 2, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that Rebecca Seay was missing. She reportedly suffered from a medical condition that would make it difficult for her to return without help.
Police told WREG-TV that her remains were found a week later wrapped in sheets and buried in her garden about 2 feet under a flower bed. Her body was reportedly near a box of her son’s ashes.
Seay’s body showed no obvious signs of trauma, and her cause of death could not be determined, WREG reports. However, Seay allegedly fell out of bed prior to her death and was hospitalized six days later.
Greg Tanner was reportedly the last person to see Seay alive on Jan. 22, after she was released from the hospital. According to WREG, a doctor had told Tanner that his mother-in-law’s dementia was getting worse, and he was told that hospice care would be appropriate, and he became her caregiver.
On Sept. 16, Tanner reportedly signed for the box containing Seay’s ashes from a funeral home.
Between Jan. 7 and March 7, investigators told WREG that more than $24,600 was charged from Seay’s account, and Tanner made charges using her account to gamble online. Authorities also reportedly located over $80,000 in checks with Seay’s forged signature.
On Oct. 24, Tanner was arrested and charged with theft of property $60,000 to $250,000, forgery $60,000 to $250,000, financial exploitation of an elderly/vulnerable person, identity theft, and abuse of a corpse, records show. He remains held on $150,000 bond.
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