August hearing set in corpse-abuse case

PARAGOULD -- A woman who police say hid the remains of her boyfriend in her home for a year to collect his Social Security benefits will be charged with abusing a corpse and fraud in Greene County Circuit Court in August.

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Gloria Marie Tensley, 65, of Paragould will be formally charged Aug. 29. She is being held in the Greene County jail in Paragould in lieu of $50,000 bond set by Greene County District Judge Dan Stidham.

Police said Tensley kept the body of her boyfriend in a bedroom in her home at 122 N. Fourth Ave. Allen Trabaugh, 36, who had been renting a room from Tensley for about three months, noticed a "strange smell" coming from the bedroom. He told police Tensley told him never to enter the bedroom when he moved into the home.

Traubaugh went into the bedroom Tuesday and discovered skeletal remains of a person on the floor, said Lt. Ken Jackson of the Paragould Police Department.

Police sent the body to the state Crime Laboratory for identification, but Jackson said they are sure the body is that of Tensley's boyfriend. Police have not released the boyfriend's name.

Jackson said Tensley is suspected of using her deceased boyfriend's debit card to cash his monthly Social Security checks that were deposited into his account after he died.

State Desk on 07/23/2016

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