A woman was arrested Tuesday in a small village in northern Texas after police discovered she had been forcing her 11-year-old daughter to live with her father's body for several weeks, local media reported this week.
Susan Cue Smith has been arrested and charged with child abuse, forgery and failure to declare death.
She explained to police that she had not reported the death of Alan West, her daughter's father, for fear of being evicted from her home, where the man was supposed to be absent.
The mother and daughter lived with the corpse, in decay, for three or four weeks in the city of Electra.
On December 1, local police chief Terry Guten visited the home after being informed of the presence of flies and odors coming from the apartment's open window.
As no one answered when the bell rang, his team entered Smith's apartment and found, in the hallway, the corpse, which he had covered with a blanket and garbage bags.
Without water, the apartment was littered with rubbish and was deemed "uninhabitable," according to the police report, which was accessed by NBC's KFDX-TV.
Susan Cue Smith told police the body belonged to the child's father. An arrest warrant was issued against her on January 13.
Her daughter was taken care of by the juvenile protection service. The child is hospitalized due to the infection he has suffered due to insect bites.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ- AFP