Woman stashed grandmother's corpse in freezer for 15 years while collecting social security checks: Police

A Pennsylvania woman has been arrested after authorities say she hid the remains of her grandmother, who died in 2004, to collect social security funds.

York Haven resident Cynthia Carolyn Black, 61, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with abuse of a corpse, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property. The investigation began last year when police were called to a home in Warrington Township for reports of a dead body, the York Daily Record reported.

Using DNA analysis, investigators were able to identify the skeletal remains, which were stored in trash bags within the freezer, as belonging to Glenora Reckord Delahay, Black’s grandmother.

According to police, Black told them that her family needed the money from the Social Security checks after Delahay’s death. She allegedly said that when she found her grandmother’s body in her Ardmore home in March 2004, she put it in the freezer to continue collecting the benefits. The freezer was then moved from Ardmore to another home, where she allegedly used the Social Security funds to cover the mortgage.

Delahay’s remains were found last year in a white chest freezer by two women who were considering buying the home, which was in foreclosure at the time. Investigators executed a warrant to obtain Black’s DNA, which was sent to the National Missing Persons Program at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification.

Black was reportedly released on $50,000 unsecured bail following her Wednesday arrest.