Family Accused of Letting Elderly Woman Die, Hiding Her Remains, Cashing Her Checks

MADISON, Wis. – An elderly Wisconsin woman fell at her sister's home and died two days later, but her family reportedly never called the police because they "had other things to do" -- apparently things like writing checks from the dead woman's account, according to a criminal complaint.

Veronica King, 71, and her son, Steven King, 45, hid the body of the dead woman, Mary Coleman, in the basement and then the garage for more than three months until Madison police finally discovered the mummified remains, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

King told police that Coleman, 70, had fallen down in a bedroom on May 7, 2009, and was unable to get up. She spoke now and then and King reportedly gave her only liquids but no foods. King never called 911.

Coleman's doctor, Dr. Robert Olson, told police Coleman had suffered a stroke earlier and it was likely she had another during her fall. If she had received proper medical care, he said, she could have survived and recovered, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

King said she did not report her sister's death to the police or have the body removed because "we had other things to do that day," according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.

The complaint states that King withdrew cash and wrote checks from Coleman's bank account for months after her death, collecting money from Coleman's pension and Social Security payments that were automatically deposited into the account.

Veronica and Steven King were charged with first-degree reckless homicide, bank fraud, hiding a corpse and recklessly subjecting an individual at risk to abuse, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. They were scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

Click here for more on this story from the Wisconsin State Journal.