A woman has been jailed after keeping her mother’s corpse for a year to claim her benefits.
Mary Kersting stole more than $13,000 (£8,600) in social security checks belonging to Hope Ruller.
When she died, Kersting claimed she couldn’t afford to have her buried.
Fulton County Public Defender Gerard McAuliffe said: ‘She also
explained that one day led to the next and although she thought about
calling authorities. She just didn’t do it.’
Nearly 18 months had passed and while Hope’s decomposing body lay in
Kersting’s flat in Gloversville, Upstate New York, she lied to her
niece, claiming the 93-year-old was still alive.
The niece, who didn’t want to be identified, said her grandmother ‘left this earth with no dignity’.
Kersting was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to carry out 500 hours of community service.
Hope was buried next to her late husband last winter.
