Women Charged With Hiding Roommate's Corpse For Weeks In NYC Apartment

Two New York women were arrested and charged last week for allegedly hiding their roommate's body in an apartment for days while they hosted several parties.

Stephanie Hillburn, 43, from Johnstown, has been apprehended by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in connection with the concealment of the corpse of Patricia Barter, 62, who is suspected to have died of a drug overdose in February, My Twin Tiers reported.

Hillburn's alleged accomplice, identified as Deborah Elgin, was also arrested. They are facing one count of concealment of a human corpse charge, a class E felony that might attract four years of prison term.

The discovery of Barter's dead body dates back to Feb. 14 when police received an anonymous call for a welfare check on the now-deceased, who shared an apartment on Byard Street with Hillburn and Elgin. When police asked the suspects about Barter, they appeared worried and then directed the cops to the latter's bedroom where deputies found her lying dead on the bed.

Police said Barter appeared to have been dead for some time. Police said the suspects lived under the same roof with the dead body and even hosted several parties in the apartment in the following week, according to the Latin Times.

The suspects told police they didn't inform police fearing their other illegal activities will come to light. Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrested Hillburn and her two accomplices for criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument in a traffic stop, ABC 10 reported.

Johnstown Police Chief David Gilbo told ABC 10 that they reached Barter's apartment after someone alerted them about a body there. Gilbo said that cops suspected Elgin and Hillburn also made purchases using Barter’s social security debit card.

In November last year, a Florida woman was arrested for hiding her roommate’s body in a trash bin to collect his social security benefits after his death. Michelle Haney, 48, was arrested and charged with the abuse of a dead body after she confessed to concealing the corpse for her personal benefit. The deceased, Jon Leonard, 40, was reportedly receiving $1,200 as social security benefit every month. After Leonard died of natural causes, Haney stuffed his body inside a closet and stored it for three weeks. Police found the corpse in an advanced state of decomposing.