Las Vegas: Invaders buried dead woman 2 years earlier

The authorities of Las Vegas They believe that the body of a woman who died in 2018 without anyone noticing it remained in her home for more than two years until illegal occupants of the property found it, dismembered it and buried it in the backyard, a television channel reported.

Lucille Payne’s remains were found in April in a shallow grave behind the home she bought in 1999 in northwest Las Vegas, KLAS-TV said Wednesday.

Las Vegas police have not identified the suspects who authorities say could face charges related to fraud or theft for selling Payne’s car and improper burial for leaving the woman’s body in the grave.

“After he found her, he made up his mind among several people who were going to dismember her body and bury it and then practically drain her finances and sell her belongings, fraudulently,” Homicide Lt. Ray Spencer told KLAS-TV.

Investigators believe that because Payne lived alone, had no close relatives, and no one noticed her absence because she paid her bills automatically, KLAS reported.

Neighbors told KLAS-TV that for years the house gave the impression of being unoccupied.

The Las Vegas police and Clark County coroner facilities were closed Thursday for Veterans Day and no officials were available to comment.

Police were tipped off in April, and detectives initially suspected Payne had been murdered. Neighbors told detectives they heard someone digging.

“She was not buried very deep, and an agent began to remove the dirt and found her arm in a very shallow grave in the backyard,” Spencer explained.

Initially, the coroner determined that Payne had been killed after finding evidence of trauma from blows and injuries caused by a sharp object.

Evidence later showed that she had passed away several years earlier, KLAS-TV reported. Since then the cause of his death has been changed to undetermined.

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