Officers responding to the scene of a burglary in northwest Arizona over the weekend found a “mummified” body inside a bathtub in the property, officials say.
The grim discovery came on Saturday morning when the Bullhead City Police Department said in a statement on Facebook that it was called to the 100 block of Palm Avenue for a possible burglary in progress.
When officers entered the home, a dead body was found in the bathtub in the property in a “mummified state”.
It remains unclear how long the body had been inside the bathtub, although a neighbour told officers that they had not seen the home owner for more than a year.
Christine Walters, a 65-year-old woman, was meanwhile arrested at the scene and charged with two counts of burglary. The arrest and the death of the home owner are thought to be unrelated.
Police said she was found “rummaging through property” at the home, which had pry marks on the front door “indicating forced entry into the home”.
The department said officers learned that Ms Walters had previously been at the address on 8 September “and removed purses, bags and clothing of the victim to attempt to sell online.”
Further charges are expected against the woman, who police say was in possession of the victim’s birth certificate, tax paperwork, driver’s licence, and credit cards, as well as drug paraphernalia items “and a useable amount of methamphetamine”, police said.
Ms Walter was booked into the Mohave County Jail in Kingman, Arizona. It was not clear if she had entered a plea or had an attorney.
