Two Ohio women face charges for allegedly driving the dead body of their male roommate to the bank, propping him up and withdrawing money from his account on Monday.
Loreen B. Feralo, 55, and Karen Casbohm, 66, both of Ashtabula, Ohio, located near Cleveland, were charged last week in the city’s municipal court with theft and gross abuse of a corpse.
The two women allegedly found the deceased, Douglas Layman, 80, also of Ashtabula, dead in his home where they were also residing on March 4, Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell said in a statement posted on Facebook.
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Women propped dead man up at bank to get cash then dropped body off at ER: Police
With the help of a third person, the women allegedly put Layman in his car and drove to the bank where they withdrew an undisclosed amount of money from his account, Stell said. “It is further alleged that Mr. Layman was placed in the vehicle in such a manner that he would be visible to bank staff in order to make the withdrawal,” he said.
The man was “propped up in the passenger seat so that the teller could see him,” Stell told the Star Beacon, an Ashtabula news outlet. “The bank had allowed this previously as long as they were accompanied by him.”
After leaving the bank, police said the women then dropped off the corpse at the Ashtabula County Medical Center emergency room and left without identifying Layman or themselves. A few hours later, one of the women contacted the medical center and gave them some information about Layman, police said.
Women charged, preliminary hearing is Tuesday
When officers went to Layman’s residence and interviewed the women, they said Layman had died there at his Ashtabula home, the Star Beacon reported.
Both were arrested and charged.
Feralo faces additional drug charges, too, according to Ashtabula Municipal Court records.
Both have preliminary hearings scheduled for Tuesday, March 12.
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