Woman kept dead friend 18 months and cashed his checks

Woman who kept dead friend for 18 months, cashing his benefit checks, pleads guilty, will enter mental health court
By Aaron Aupperlee
October 31, 2012

JACKSON, MI —€” With supportive family members seated on a court bench behind her, a woman admitted to cashing regular benefit checks of a friend months after he died.

Linda Chase, 72, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of larceny by conversion, a felony punishable by up to five years. More severe counts of forgery, a 14-year felony, were dismissed as part of the plea arrangement.

Chase, who kept her friend and roommate, Charles Zigler, for 18 months after he died, will likely not spend time in jail or prison and instead receive probation, said District Judge Michael Klaeren.
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