MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man allegedly stole over $105,000 before an elderly woman’s body was found in Memphis, Tennessee.
According to WHBQ, the Memphis Police Department said a missing persons report was filed for Rebecca Seay, 83, back on Feb. 18 after caseworkers with the Department of Human Services were unable to contact Seay after she was released from the hospital.
Seay was diagnosed with dementia, according to an affidavit obtained by WHBQ. The domestic partner of her deceased son, Gregory Tanner, 59, was identified as her caretaker. Seay was last seen with Tanner on Jan. 22 after she got out of the hospital.
Officers located a body behind a rental house in North Montgomery on March 3, according to WHBQ. The body was buried about two feet under a flower bed.
The body was later identified as Seay, and was wrapped in sheets next to a box of ashes that was labeled to belong to David Seay. According to WHBQ, records indicated that the box of ashes was signed for by Tanner on Sept. 16, 2020, from the High Point Funeral Home.
The day prior to the discovery of Seay’s body, investigators were notified by Carter Bank and Trust of unusual and suspicious activity on Seay’s bank account. According to the affidavit obtained by WHBQ, $24,607.89 in unauthorized charges were made to her account from Jan. 7, 2021, to Mar. 7, 2022. The money did not appear to be used for Seay’s care.
It was reported that Tanner had allegedly made unauthorized charges on gambling sites, police said according to WHBQ. In addition, investigators say they also found $80,000 in checks with forged signatures from Seay that Tanner had allegedly deposited to his bank accounts at First Horizon and Regions banks, which was also not used to care for Seay.
The total amount of money allegedly taken from Seay was $105,409.90, police said according to WHBQ.
Tanner has been charged with theft of property, forgery, identity theft, financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable person and abuse of corpse. According to WHBQ, records indicate that Tanner’s bond was set at $150,000.