East Texas Man Charged with Crime Straight from a Horror Movie
To police first on the scene, it must have seemed like a crime right out of a horror movie. An East Texas man has been arrested on suspicion of keeping the body of his dead son in his kitchen for almost four years.
What is the Crime?
67-year-old David McMichael booked into Texarkana's Bi-State Jail on Wednesday on a charge of abuse of a corpse.
Why Were They On the Scene In the First Place?
New Boston Police made the grisly discovery Tuesday afternoon when checking on McMichael, after a neighbor voiced concern about his health and welfare. Police said that in the course of routine questioning to determine his state-of-mind, McMichael said that inside the house was the body of his son who died in May 2018.
And Law Enforcement's Hideous Discovery
On entering the McMichael residence, officers found the corpse of a man they suspect is Jason McMichael, who died nearly four years ago.
So, What Now?
New Boston Police say the body will be taken to Dallas' Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences for autopsy and definitive identification.
The Official New Boston, Texas Police News Release
On March 29, 2022 at approximately 17:10 pm a caller requested a welfare check on a male in the 1200 block of S. Merrill. When officers arrived on the scene they made contact with David McMichael, father of the subject. He was asked by officers on they scene if he knew why they were there. Mr. McMichael advised them it was because he had a body in his kitchen. He advised officers it was the body of his son who died in May of 2018.
The officers on the scene made entry into the home and found the skeletal remains of a male. A short time later McMichael was taken into custody without issue. The Texarkana Crime Scene Unit arrived to process the scene of the incident. After obtaining a search warrant signed by a District Judge, the unit entered the residence accompanied by NBPD Investigators. After examining the skeletal remains it was determined that the body was that of a male, possibly Jason McMichael. The body was released to Mid-South Transport and take to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas for identification and autopsy.
Mr. McMichael is currently being booked into the Bi-State Jail and charged with Abuse of a Corpse.