A body found last month in Wayne County has been identified as a Pulaski County woman who apparently died in 2011. When sheriff's deputies approached her son to ask questions, he took out a gun and took his own life in front of them.
The body of 96-year-old Faye Whiteford of Science Hill was found during an investigation of her whereabouts. Her son, Jon Whiteford, had been cashing her Social Security checks and hadn't reported her death. Social Security itself called for an investigation of Ms. Whiteford's health after she hadn't filed any medical claims in three years, despite being 96.
The benefit checks being sent to her were still being cashed, however.
An autopsy revealed she'd died of natural causes years before the late April discovery of her remains. Her body was hidden and wrapped in a plastic tarp in the front yard of a home where Jon Whiteford was staying.