Judge Says 87-Year-Old Woman Charged With Abusing Corpse Won’t Go To Jail, But Must Pay $10 A Month

An 87-year-old woman from Maine who admitted to burying her best friend in her backyard and stealing tens of thousands of dollars in government benefits will not serve any jail time. A local judge instead ordered her to pay $10 a month in restitution, according to WMTW.

Vernelle Jackson pleaded guilty in Oxford County Court to abuse of a corpse, theft, and forgery. Authorities discovered the body of 80-year-old Mae Shelton behind Jackson’s home in Norway, Maine, in 2019. Investigators later found that Jackson had been cashing Shelton’s government benefits checks for years.

“She has always wanted to respect her friend Mae’s wishes, but ultimately she had to accept responsibility for the financial aspects and the technical violation regarding the corpse,” Jackson’s attorney, Daniel Dubé, told WMTW.

State police recovered Shelton’s body on September 16, 2019, after receiving a tip. Jackson told the station that Shelton had died of natural causes and had requested to be buried in the backyard to “be close to you.” Jackson said she wrapped Shelton’s body in a tarp, dragged it outside, and spent two days digging the grave, citing her COPD as a physical limitation.

Prosecutors said Jackson collected more than $30,000 in Supplemental Security Income, Virginia retirement checks, and food-stamp benefits in Shelton’s name. Court documents also indicate she wrote over $8,000 in bad checks on her friend’s account.

The judge described the situation as a “sad case” and noted that Jackson would have faced harsher penalties if she were in better health, WMTW reported.

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