Family may have lived with body in camper three months
Katheryn Houghton Daily Inter Lake | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 6 months AGO
After allegedly living with the decomposing body of their nephew in an Arlee camper for nearly three months, an Idaho couple are facing murder charges.
The body of Richard Warner, 18, was found June 2 crumpled in the shower of an Arlee camper that belonged to Kassandra and Stephan Seese, according to court documents.
Lake County authorities on Thursday charged Stephan Seese with deliberate homicide and his wife, Kassandra, with accountability for deliberate homicide.
According to the documents, Kassandra Seese told detectives that she and her two children were present Feb. 17 when her husband repeatedly struck Warner in the head with a hammer.
She said at first they didn’t realize Warner had died, but when they did, they placed his body in the shower and piled clothes and furniture on top of the body.
Lake County Undersheriff Ben Woods said people came to move the camper last week and discovered Warner’s body inside.
The Montana State Crime Lab performed an autopsy and identified the victim.
The family had been living together in Montana for roughly a year in the camper off Coombs Lane.
Lake County deputies traveled to Wallace, Idaho — where Warner is from — and learned he had been living in the Arlee camper with his aunt, uncle and two cousins.
According to court records, Stephan Seese claimed his nephew had been killed in a car crash in Billings and he was going to Idaho for funeral preparations. While in Idaho, he was arrested for a probation violation unrelated to Warner’s death.
Detectives interviewed Kassandra Seese in Idaho while her husband was incarcerated. She told the detectives that her husband started beating Warner after accusing him of lying.
The crime-lab analysis revealed the victim also had been struck in the side with a “knife-like object,” which broke Warner’s ribs.
Kassandra Seese allegedly told investigators that although the killing took place around Feb. 17, the family continued to live in the trailer until early May, when they returned to Idaho.
Woods said after a $100,000 arrest warrant was issued, the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office arrested Kassandra Seese in Springdale, Washington.
Stephan Seese is still in jail in Wallace, Idaho. Kassandra Seese is being transported to the Spokane County Jail.
Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY KATHERYN HOUGHTON DAILY INTER LAKE
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