A 63-year-old woman in New York will face prison time for hiding her live-in boyfriend’s body in a recycling bin in the basement of their home for months, occasionally pouring bleach on the remains to mask the foul odor and deducting thousands of dollars from his Social Security benefits.
Wendy Stone was sentenced to 12 months in a federal correctional facility on Thursday after reaching an agreement with prosecutors and pleading guilty to one count of conversion with unlawful conveyance of government money, according to authorities.
Stone faced up to a decade in prison following her arrest last year, when prosecutors charged her with theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and making a false statement to obtain Social Security benefits. She is accused of spending the money in restaurants and stores, as well as withdrawing cash from ATMs.
According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York, Kenneth Crisman, Stone’s boyfriend, died on December 28, 2022, at the couple’s Rochester home. Rochester is approximately 300 miles northwest of Manhattan.
However, prosecutors claim Stone’s criminal behavior began even before the victim’s death, when Crisman requested a replacement debit card for his benefits, which arrived at his home four days before his death and was stolen by Stone. She apparently found his body in the house a few days after he died.
Stone decided not to tell anyone about Crisman’s death and to continue collecting Social Security benefits. Instead, she chose to hide Crisman’s body in the downstairs area of the house they previously shared.
“Stone moved [Crisman’s] corpse into the basement of the residence [Crisman] died in,” prosecutors said in a statement. “She wrapped [Crisman’s] corpse in plastic, placed it in a recycling bin, and poured bleach on it at regular intervals. [Crisman’s] body remained in the basement from December 2022 to September 2023.”
In the complaint, prosecutors clarified that Stone poured bleach on the body to “prevent foul odor.”
Crisman died on December 28, 2022, but his debit card was activated with a new PIN on January 6, 2023, and the first charges to the new debit card were made the next day. Prosecutors said that by January 15, the card had been depleted with charges from a restaurant, Walmart, The Home Depot, Staples, and ATM withdrawals.
Stone was captured on surveillance video shopping at a Walmart in Greece, New York, on August 10, 2023, when she used a debit card, according to court documents. She was also seen in a security photo taken by an ATM on June 6, 2023, withdrawing $400 and $300. On March 7, 2023, the card was used to open a Rent-A-Center account for $1,815.05.
Authorities say Stone stole $7,902 in benefits intended for Crisman between January and September 2023.
“In addition, on February 6, 2023, Stone recertified SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits,” according to the announcement. “In her recertification, Stone stated that [Crisman] was still living with her. As a result of this false information, Stone received $1,072.00 in SNAP benefits that she was not entitled to.”
