PRESCOTT, Ariz.—A woman’s daughter and granddaughter have been arrested after police found a body they believe was a 77-year-old suspected to have been dead since 2017.
Police arrested Tara Aven, 46, and Briar Aven, 24, after the discovery on April 9 of a body believed to be Sandra Aven, who was found in her central Arizona home.
The mother and daughter are suspected of cashing numerous checks sent to Sandra Aven for several years, according to police.
The women confessed to killing Sandra Aven in late 2017 and cashing numerous monthly payment checks in her name ever since, police said. pic.twitter.com/tpGdPWV4lc
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) April 10, 2019
They said the two women have been booked into the Yavapai County Jail on suspicion of fraud schemes and evidence tampering. Tara Aven is also accused of facilitation of first-degree murder. Police had previously said the case is being investigated as a homicide and the women are considered suspects.
It was unclear Tuesday night if either woman had a lawyer yet.
Police reported receiving a call from a Prescott resident who said he hadn’t seen Sandra Aven for a long time and was worried about her welfare.
Family killed grandma, cashed her checks for years: cops: A mother-daughter duo confessed to killing the family’s granny two years ago — and cashing her monthly checks ever since, Arizona cops said Tara Aven, 46, and daughter Briar Aven, 24, were… https://t.co/X3XWwSKTb0 pic.twitter.com/NCOqCXGkCQ
— Bangladesh News 24 (@bdnews24) April 10, 2019
Tara Aven and her daughter live next door to Sandra Aven and were questioned about her whereabouts.
Briar Aven initially told officers that her grandmother was out of town and unavailable, police said.
After the women gave inconsistent information, officers entered Sandra Aven’s home to check on her.
They found the body, but police said it hasn’t been positively identified yet and there was no information on a possible cause of death.
DNA Identifies Arkansas Homicide Victim 30 Years After Death
OKLAHOMA CITY—An Arkansas man whose remains were found in Oklahoma has been identified more than 30 years after his death thanks to advances in DNA technology.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said on April 11 it’s investigating the killing of 32-year-old William C. Reed, who was last seen alive in Bentonville, Arkansas, in August 1987. His skeletal remains were found almost a year later near Mazie, Oklahoma, about 80 miles (128 kilometers) west of Bentonville.
Reed’s remains were identified after researchers at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, extracted DNA from one of the victim’s bones. A DNA profile entered last month into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System was matched to Reed’s brother and daughter, who submitted DNA in 2010 hoping it could locate him.
DNA identifies Arkansas homicide victim 30 years after death https://t.co/GpUjX3tvI4 pic.twitter.com/F6QvIUCiwH
— KATV News (@KATVNews) April 11, 2019
Man Pleads Guilty to Some Charges in Crash That Killed 6
SALT LAKE CITY—A Utah dump truck operator accused of killing six people while driving drunk has admitted to some criminal charges as part of a deal with prosecutors.
The Deseret News reports Jamie Don McKenzie, of Heber City, entered guilty pleas on April 10 in 4th District Court to three counts of automobile homicide, a second-degree felony.
Under the terms of the agreement, Jamie Don McKenzie, 42, has agreed to pay restitution to each of the six men’s families, said deputy Wasatch County attorney Case Wade.https://t.co/BTFsJaVjOE
— Deseret News (@DeseretNews) April 11, 2019
Three identical charges, as well as two counts of DUI, were dismissed as part of the plea bargain.
Deputy Wasatch County Attorney Case Wade says the 42-year-old McKenzie also has agreed to pay restitution to each of the six men’s families.
Wade says prosecutors offered the plea bargain because the recommended sentence for the three counts McKenzie pleaded to would not differ much from the penalty for convictions on each of the original charges.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 29.
