Woman Admits Storing Mom's Corpse While She Cashed Checks

An upstate New York woman admits she kept her 93-year-old mother's decomposed body for over a year so she could cash her benefit checks.

Fulton County District Attorney Louise Sira says 60-year-old Mary Kersting pleaded guilty Tuesday to grand larceny and improper disposal of a body.

Police checking on the welfare of Hope Ruller found her decomposed body Dec. 29 in her apartment in Gloversville, 40 miles northwest of Albany.

Authorities say Ruller died in October 2013 from unknown causes. Kersting lived in the apartment above her mother's.

Kersting admitted she stole more than $13,000 in Ruller's Social Security and pension benefits. She also admitted she never called authorities to get medical care for her mother or to take away her body.

She faces six months in jail when she's sentenced on Nov. 6.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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