KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police in Knoxville are investigating whether the man whose decomposed body was discovered hidden in a shed may have been killed for his Social Security benefits.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports Donald Moore had been dead for several weeks by the time authorities found his "mummified" body. A search warrant affidavit obtained by the newspaper suggests one of Moore's housemates may have killed him to collect his Social Security benefits. Witnesses told police 62-year-old Tommy Wayne Rose stabbed Moore in the eye.
Knoxville police said in a statement they arrested Rose, along with 41-year-old Deborah Maria Gister and 48-year-old Christina Barbara McCormack, and charged them with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. All three denied involvement.
It's unclear whether those charged have attorneys who can comment.