Woman Concealed Mother’s Corpse To See ‘Stages Of Death’, Arrested

Officials said a North Carolina woman was arrested Tuesday after they discovered she was living for months with her 93-year-old mother’s decomposing body without reporting the death as she was “curious about the stages of death.”

The Enfield Police Department charged 69-year-old Donna Sue Hudgins with felony concealment of death for the crime. In a Facebook post, the department detailed the happenings which led to her arrest.

Hudgins reported her mother's death to a funeral home to make funeral arrangements recently. She claimed her mother, Nellie May Hudgins, died early that morning, but did not know where the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) took the body. The exact date when she reported the death was not specified in the post.

The funeral home tried to locate the body but to no avail. They became concerned and contacted the Enfield Police Department, which sent officers to Hudgins home.

The department chief Tyree Davis, officer Jerry Shoemaker, and detective Teo Antunez Jr. went to Nellie's residence and contacted Hudgins who was living in the same house. The officers entered the home to conduct a welfare check and discovered a badly decomposed body, which was later identified to be that of Hudgins’ mother.

An investigation led by detectives Willie Murphy Jr. and Antunez Jr. found that the body was in the home for several months before Hudgins finally informed other family members of Nellie's death.

Kenny Velasquez, a relative, told WRAL-TV that every time somebody tried to visit Nellie, Hudgins would make up excuses to avoid it.

“Every time somebody would stop by, [Hudgins] would meet us at the door, say [Nellie May’s] asleep or something like that,” Velasquez said. “Apparently every time someone would call, same thing.”

When interviewed, Hudgins told detectives she was curious and wanted to see the stages of death, and therefore, did not report the death to anyone.

According to neighbors, there was a foul odor around the house among other warning signs, but they ignored it.

A neighbor, Edna Burgess, said her daughter smelt something weird outside. “I still didn’t pay it no mind,” she said. “I thought maybe it was a sewer or something.”

The department consulted with Halifax County Assistant District Attorney regarding the case and charged Hudgins for concealing her mother’s death. She was arrested and issued a $5000 bond by magistrate Christopher Kidd.

Hudgins is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 7, 2018.

No other details regarding the case were disclosed by officials, including details regarding the cause of death, and date of death among other things.

However, a report from the Rocky Mount Telegram, the woman died on Sept. 7. A graveside service was held for her on Sept. 11 at Elmwood Cemetery in Enfield, the report said.