A Virginia woman was charged with concealing a dead body after hiding her mother's corpse in their home for 44 days, authorities said Friday.
Jo-Whitney Outland, 55, of Bristol, Virginia, hid the corpse of Rosemary Outland, her 78-year-old mother, under 54 blankets in their southwest Virginia home, said Sergeant. Steve Crawford of the Bristol police.
Crawford said a letter written by Jo-Whitney Outland that was found in the home indicated her mother died December 29 and that she covered the body with blankets after failing to revive her with CPR. Outland then padlocked a door and refused to let relatives into the home, masking the scent of the decomposing body with 66 air fresheners as she slept next to the body, Crawford said.
Outland did not have an attorney Friday, according to court records. No one answered the phone at a number listed for her in public records.
"I've handled a lot of deceased people but nothing of this magnitude," Crawford said. "It's bizarre."