JACKSON, MS - A married couple has been arrested after authorities investigating the disappearance of an 81-year-old woman found her body buried in the backyard of their home.
The elderly woman, Carol Ryan, was reported missing after a family member said she was supposed to be at a nursing home in Brandon, but had not been heard from in months, according to Law & Crime. The investigation began Saturday, December 20, when a family member called the Jackson Police Department to report Ryan missing.
On Tuesday night, December 23, Jackson Police Chief Tyree Jones told reporters that the investigation led them to Ryan's former home, which was now occupied by her 50-year-old son, John Ryan, and his 48-year-old wife, Samantha Ryan. All three lived at the house at one time, police said.
After obtaining a search warrant, investigators searched the backyard of the home where cadaver dogs indicated the presence of human remains, the police chief said.
Police brought in excavators where they discovered a body wrapped in a tarp that was covered by concrete in a grave about six to eight feet deep, Jones confirmed. The next steps of the investigation include a medical examination where the medical examiner will identify the remains and determine the cause and manner of death.
The discovered human remains had been buried "long before" Carol Ryan was reported missing, Jones said. He, however, did not have an estimate as to how long the body was in the suspects' backyard.
According to police, the missing person investigation will continue until the remains are definitively identified as Carol Ryan. John and Samantha Ryan were arrested on one count each of desecration of a human corpse. More charges are possible as investigators uncover more evidence. John is being held at Mississippi's Hinds County Jail on a $100,000 bond while his wife, Samantha, is being held on a $75,000 bond.
The elderly woman, Carol Ryan, was reported missing after a family member said she was supposed to be at a nursing home in Brandon, but had not been heard from in months, according to Law & Crime. The investigation began Saturday, December 20, when a family member called the Jackson Police Department to report Ryan missing.
On Tuesday night, December 23, Jackson Police Chief Tyree Jones told reporters that the investigation led them to Ryan's former home, which was now occupied by her 50-year-old son, John Ryan, and his 48-year-old wife, Samantha Ryan. All three lived at the house at one time, police said.
After obtaining a search warrant, investigators searched the backyard of the home where cadaver dogs indicated the presence of human remains, the police chief said.
Police brought in excavators where they discovered a body wrapped in a tarp that was covered by concrete in a grave about six to eight feet deep, Jones confirmed. The next steps of the investigation include a medical examination where the medical examiner will identify the remains and determine the cause and manner of death.
The discovered human remains had been buried "long before" Carol Ryan was reported missing, Jones said. He, however, did not have an estimate as to how long the body was in the suspects' backyard.
According to police, the missing person investigation will continue until the remains are definitively identified as Carol Ryan. John and Samantha Ryan were arrested on one count each of desecration of a human corpse. More charges are possible as investigators uncover more evidence. John is being held at Mississippi's Hinds County Jail on a $100,000 bond while his wife, Samantha, is being held on a $75,000 bond.
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