GOLDSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina woman sought after her mother’s corpse was found in a freezer sold at a yard sale has been arrested, Goldsboro police said Friday.
Marcella Jean Lee, 56, was arrested Thursday in Carolina Beach, about 100 miles south of Goldsboro, on a felony charge of failure to report a death, police said. She had been sought for more than three months after a neighbor reported finding the remains of Lee’s mother, 75-year-old Arma Roush.
Roush lived with Lee and was last seen in August 2015. An autopsy found no signs of foul play in Roush’s death.
Police said a neighbor bought Lee’s freezer for $30 in the spring. According to authorities, it was taped shut and Lee told the neighbor not to open the freezer, which she referred to as a time capsule, until church members could come and collect the contents inside.
After no one showed up for weeks, the neighbor opened the freezer in late May and discovered Roush’s remains.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Lee had an attorney.
