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Woman Who Dumped Boyfriend's Body In Suitcase Allegedly Stole His Social Security Checks
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 10, 2011
Modified Sep 10, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 10, 2011
Modified Sep 10, 2011
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Earlier this week, a 36-year-old Bronx woman admitted to stuffing her dead 73-year-old roommate in a suitcase and leaving him in front of an abandoned house in Williamsbridge. Monica Exum claimed she had nothing to do with his death, and did this because she was scared. But it's now been revealed that things weren't even that clear-cut: Exum allegedly cashed longtime boyfriend Johnny Davis's Social Security checks and bank funds for three months after he died.
Exum had previously told police that she found Davis dead in their Fish Avenue apartment on May 31st; wrote "rest in peace" on a strip of cardboard and left it atop the luggage, which sat there for nearly three months before a neighbor called the cops to investigate the suspicious bag last Sunday. She claimed that she put him in the suitcase because, "My friend told me if someone dies in your apartment you go to jail, so I got really afraid. I didn't know what to do."
After police began investigating the financials of Davis, a retired pharmacist, they discovered the irregularities. Davis’s granddaughter Ayana Jefferson the News, “Even after he died, the cops told us she kept using his funds, cashing his checks and living in his house.”
Exum has only been charged with improper body removal, but prosecutors say that because of the new information, they may pursue more charges: "I'm not buying that one," prosecutor Ilya Kharkover said. Exum, who showed up to court yesterday wearing a "peace and love" t-shirt, is reportedly considering a plea deal of nine months in jail for the crime - as well as 15 days for an old trespassing case.
Back in 2008, two men who were arrested for trying to cash a dead man’s $355 social security check by pulling a makeshift Weekend At Bernie's with the dead man's body had their charges dropped for lack of evidence.
Tagged
body removal
bronx
death
fraud
john davis
monica exum
social security
suitcase
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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