A woman accused of hiding her elderly mother's body for seven months had her first court appearance yesterday and officials said that the dead woman's family members had continued to collect her Social Security payments after she died.
Amy Stewart asked for a court-appointed defense attorney when she appeared before a district court judge in Wilmington.
Stewart, 47, did not enter a plea. She was charged Wednesday with concealing a dead body, a felony. Stewart posted bond and was released from jail.
The sheriff's office anticipates filing additional charges related to fraud, said Deputy Charles Smith of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office. He said that Blanche Matilda Roth's family had continued to collect her Social Security payments after her death and authorities are investigating.
Police responded to the family's home Tuesday after receiving a 911 call and found her body in a bedroom. Police estimate that Roth, 87, died in May. Roth was Stewart's mother.
In the 911 recording an unidentified male caller told an operator, "We have an ... elderly lady in the house who has died and we need her taken to the morgue."
When asked how long ago the woman had passed away, the caller replied, "I don't know, I'm going to say a month." The caller confirmed that the woman had died a month ago and was still in the house.
"She just died in the bed. She's been bedridden for a number of days, or weeks," the caller explained.
The recording was released yesterday by the New Hanover County Public Safety Communications Center.
Stewart would not comment on the charges.
Neighbors were shocked Wednesday to hear of Roth's death.
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