VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas — A Van Zandt County man allegedly kept his mother's body wrapped in plastic for approximately two weeks and has been arrested and charged with abuse of corpse while investigators determine what led to her death.
VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas — A Van Zandt County man allegedly kept his mother's body wrapped in plastic for approximately two weeks and has been arrested and charged with abuse of corpse while investigators determine what led to her death.
Van Zandt County Sheriff Joe Carter says 49-year-old Douglas Kilburn told deputies he kept the body there so he could continue to visit his mother in her passing.
Deputies with the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office were first called to the home on February 14, 2023, on a welfare check after a friend says she had not heard from 75-year Jacqueline Conrad, who resided in the 600 block of County Road 3828 in Van Zandt County.
At that time, police say Kilburn reported his mother had left the area and did not want to be bothered.
Feeling uneasy, the deputy returned on February 20, 2023, to speak to Kilburn who then allegedly told deputies his mother was deceased inside the residence.
Inside, investigators discovered Conrad's body wrapped in plastic and taped.
Kilburn, according to the sheriff's office, told investigators his mother had died of natural causes approximately in the first week of February.
Conrad's body was transported to the Southwestern Institute of Forensics Sciences for analysis and autopsy to determine cause and manner of death.
Kilburn was arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse and was booked into the Van Zandt County Justice Center on a $50,000 bond.
This investigation is still ongoing, says the sheriff's office. Additional charges may be pending as a result of the autopsy results.