Florida woman hides man’s ‘rapidly decomposing’ body in a trash can so she can collect his Social Security checks

Michelle Haney, has been charged with abuse of a dead human body for hiding the body of 39-year-old Jon Christopher Leonard

Haney, 48, from Manatee County, Florida, is being held in jail after confessing that she stashed Leonard’s body in a trash can as a part of a mortal scheme to collect his Social Security checks

Before his death, Haney was living with 39-year-old Leonard, who received Social Security benefits

In July Haney found Jon Christopher Leonard dead inside the home they shared, apparently from natural causes

However, she didn’t call the authorities to report his passing, and Leonard’s Social Security checks kept coming in

Haney stashed his body in the closet for three weeks before ultimately placing his remains in a 55-gallon trash can and taking it over to a neighbor’s house for safekeeping

Cops were called in after the neighbor “storing a trash can for a friend” opened it up, two months later, and found a rotting body stuffed inside

A Manatee County, Florida, woman has been tossed in jail after confessing that she stashed a man’s body in a trash can as a part of a fraudlent scheme to collect his Social Security checks, the Herald-Tribune reports.
This shocking news about the body in the trash and the alleged Social Security fraud is according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Manatee County deputies arrested a Michelle Haney who confessed to hiding a dead body in the trash can.
The Sheriff’s Office said on Wednesday that Haney, 48, told investigators that in July she found Jon Christopher Leonard, 39, dead inside the home they shared
Before his death, she was living with 39-year-old Christopher Leonard, who received Social Security benefits, at a trailer park in the 5000 block of Windmill Manor Avenue.
However, she didn’t call the authorities to report his tragic demise, which apparently was due to natural causes.
While Leonard’s Social Security checks kept coming in, Haney stashed his body in the closet for three weeks before ultimately placing his rapidly decomposing remains in a 55-gallon trash can and taking it to a neighbor’s house for safekeeping, with a promise that she’d be back to pick up the trash can later.
Police said, “The guy holding this trash can said that he thought it was a container of personal items,” after she told him ‘I’ll be back for it later on.’
Cops were called in after the neighbor “storing a trash can for a friend” opened it up and found a rotting body stuffed inside – two months later.
The sheriff’s office said Haney admitted to deputies that she did it so she could keep using his social security benefits after he died.
An autopsy on the deeply decomposed remains is scheduled to ascertain the cause of death.
Haney has been charged with abuse of a dead human body for stashing Leonard in the trash can.
More charges are expected, presumably stemming from her fraudulent use of his Social Security checks.