Authorities in Ohio arrested three people after they discovered the badly decomposed body of a 71-year-old Vietnam veteran in a home, according to multiple reports.
Deputies with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office found the body of Bob Harris, 71, after learning that his Social Security debit card was being used despite the fact that he hadn't been seen for months, WJW reported. The body had decomposed to the point where the remains were mostly skeletal, lying in the living room of a home in Wainwright.
The body was kept a short distance from where the home’s residents slept, according to WJW.
"It's a horribly graphic case," Sheriff Orvis Campbell told TimesReporter.com.
He said Harris’ body was found in some “of the most deplorable conditions we can describe.” Trash and animal waste was found near the body.
Harris was living with a married couple and their daughter, according to TimesReporter.com. The family had spread stories about Harris moving to Stark County and allowing them to use his Social Security benefits, Campbell said.
Authorities arrested Brian and Stacy Sorohan on charges of abuse of a corpse and theft of a credit card, according to The Associated Press. The couple’s 18-year-old daughter was charged with abuse of a corpse.
Deputies said the circumstances surrounding Harris’ death were not immediately clear. An autopsy will be performed to determine whether his death involved foul play, according to TimesReporter.com.
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