Granny dug up loved ones and kept bodies in home

Authorities in Pennsylvania are investigating the bizarre case of an elderly woman who allegedly exhumed the bodies of two loved ones and kept their mummified remains hidden inside her home. The case came to light on Wednesday when state police announced they had served a search warrant at the Wyalusing Township home of 91-year-old Jean Stevens, during which they found the remains of two people, believed to be Stevens' late husband, Jimmy Stevens, and her twin sister, June.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, two Area Agency on Aging case workers notified state police Tuesday that there were bodies inside the home. The case workers told police that Stevens had showed them one of the bodies, which was stored in a spare bedroom, and informed them another was "rolled up in a rug" in her garage, the affidavit stated. Stevens allegedly told the case workers that, with the help of some unnamed individuals, she had disinterred Jimmy and June shortly after their burials. Jimmy died May 21, 1999, and was buried at a cemetery, while June died Oct. 3, 2009, and was interred on Stevens' property.



The case workers told police that while they believed Stevens was "in control of her mental faculties," they were concerned for her welfare, state police said in their affidavit. After finding the remains inside the home, authorities exhumed the caskets in which Jimmy and June had been buried, and found both were empty. While there is little doubt regarding the identities of the two cadavers found in Stevens' home, state police say the county coroner's office is still awaiting the results of DNA testing.

In obtaining the search warrant, state police cited three violations: "institutional vandalism, desecration of venerated objects and abuse of a corpse." However, no charges have yet been filed against Stevens. Meanwhile, some of Stevens' neighbours are left scratching their heads over the alleged discovery. "It's bizarre [to] find two mummified bodies in a house, especially in Bradford County, let alone on a hill like this where you know all your neighbors," Bryan Champluver.

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