The peculiar scenario unfolded in July 2012. Reports revealed that Chase had the body of her friend and roommate, Charles Williams Zigler, 67, in her home after his natural death.
Chase confessed to maintaining Zigler’s body while continuing to cash his social security checks, claiming she was managing his finances for him even when he was alive.
She recounted her daily interactions with Zigler, talking to him regularly, watching NASCAR together in the living room, and making efforts to clean his body.
Chase expressed her emotions by saying, “It’s not that I’m heartless. It’s just that after so many bad things happen to you, I don’t know. If you had to know Charlie, he had the best sense of humor in this whole world.”
Having shared a home for a decade, Chase attempted to justify her actions.
She explained, “I know this is horrible, but after awhile, you get… I don’t know what you call it, I don’t know. I didn’t want to be alone. He was the only guy who was ever nice to me.”
The situation came to light only after Zigler’s family requested a welfare check due to a prolonged absence of communication.
Barb Zigler, his niece, explained to dispatch, “We’ve been trying to get a hold of him. My aunt is being put in hospice – that’s his sister – and my cousin’s been trying to get a hold of him for quite a while.
“My brother even stopped in about a month ago and his girlfriend’s always saying that he’s gone. But he’s on oxygen, he can barely get around by himself. Nobody’s heard from him in quite a while. We’re concerned about him.”
Upon police arrival at the Jackson, Michigan residence, they discovered Zigler’s mummified remains under blankets in a cloth recliner chair in the living room.
Authorities estimated that he had passed away around Christmas 2010, with his body decomposing in the home ever since. An autopsy confirmed his death was due to natural causes.