The body found in Wayne County last month identified as that of a missing Pulaski County woman is believed to have been stored in a freezer for more than two years while the victim’s son collected her social security benefits.
Officials say the body identified as that of 96-year-old Faye B. Whiteford had been kept inside a freezer from 2011 until late 2013 before it was taken to the home in Wayne County where it was found on April 23.
liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html
According to officials, the woman’s son, Jon Whiteford, continued drawing his mother’s social security and retirement benefits after her natural death sometime in the spring of 2011. The body remained in a freezer at the family’s home on Maggie Lane in Pulaski County until Jon was forced to move out of the home some time around Christmas of 2013. He rented a home on Brammer Hill Ridge Road in Wayne County, to where he took his mother’s remains, officials said. Whiteford’s body was found in a tied up tarp partially covered with a wooden box in the front yard of the home.
The residence is an older home and appeared to be in need of substantial repair before occupancy, officials said. With the very cold winter in the area, the remains likely remained frozen until the spring of 2014.
Investigators found out in March Jon was not living at that home in Wayne County, but rather was still in Pulaski County, living just a house down from his own at a friend’s home on Maggie Lane. Officials say when a Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputy approached the home on March 29 to speak with Jon about the possible social security fraud, he turned a handgun on himself and committed suicide.
The owners of the property live in Lexington and had given Jon a key to the home to care for the residence.
Officials say Jon made a visit to the local social security office on March 6 to apply for his own benefits and many questions about his mother’s status remained answered – officials say he confirmed his mother was dead, but refused to tell investigator who interviewed him at the time how or when she died, or the location of her body.
Family friends and acquaintances told investigators Whiteford had been bedfast in their home on Maggie Lane for several years, and that her son Jon was her primary caregiver and was her power of attorney on record, therefore giving him access to all her finances.
The investigation began in February 2014 when the Social Security Administration noted that Whiteford had not made a medical claim of any type in about three years. The lack of medical billing to a 96-year-old flagged in the system for a welfare check on her condition and to verify if she may be deceased.
Since the person responsible for this heinous act is now deceased, no charges will be pursued.
There are still many unanswered questions in this investigation and detectives would like to speak with anyone who may have any information.
