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A group of squatters has been accused of dismembering and burying the body of an 82-year-old woman and taking over her home. Authorities said that Lucille Payne died in 2018, but her death went unnoticed for three years.
When the squatters entered the home sometime in early 2021, they found Payne's mummified body sitting in her rocking chair. After burying her body in a shallow grave in the backyard, the squatters began to sell off her belongings, including her car.
"After finding her, the decision was made between several people that they were going to dismember her body and bury her and then basically drain her finances and sell off her belongings, fraudulently," Las Vegas Metro homicide Lt. Ray Spencer told KLAS.
Payne's death went unnoticed because she lived alone, had no close friends or family, and had set all of her bills to autopay. Officers learned about the squatters after receiving a tip last April. When a deputy went to check out the home, he found her remains in the backyard.
"She was not buried very deeply, and an officer started to move the dirt and found her arm inside a very shallow grave in the backyard," Spencer said.
Investigators initially believed that Payne had been murdered, but an autopsy revealed she had been dead for several years and likely died due to natural causes.
The unidentified squatters have not been arrested but face multiple charges, including selling items that did not belong to them and improper burial.