Two Overland Park residents accused of keeping a relative’s body in their house for six years in order to collect death benefits will face federal charges on Feb. 2.
Kirk and Lynn Ritter, both 61, have been summoned to appear in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, to face one count apiece of wire fraud and two counts apiece of theft of government funds. Both charges are felonies.
Prosecutors say the couple are daughter and son-in-law of a man identified as Michael C. Michael C. was a retired telecommunications employee who had been receiving Social Security benefits and pension payments since 2008, according to court records.
The dead body was left for six years at home
The Ritters lived with Michael C. in an Overland Park home in the 11800 block of West 99th Terrace, and Lynn was his caretaker, according to court documents.
On October 23, 2022, Kirk Ritter called Overland Park police to tell them about Michael C.’ s death and the location of his body at their home, according to the document. Police found the body in a “mummified state” upon their arrival and it was later determined that he had been dead since around July 1, 2016.
The couple is accused of keeping the death a secret
The charges are based on bank records of checks written to the Ritters on Michael C.’s account after his death. The charging document lists three examples, from 2019, 2020 and 2022 of about $1,000 each.
The document did not state if that was the total prosecutors believed to have been stolen during those six years. It did note that since Michael C.’s death there were 76 direct deposits to his account totaling $68,637 in pension benefits and $147,429 in Social Security benefits.
The Ritters are accused of keeping his death a secret in order to maintain access to his bank account and those direct deposits.
Wire fraud carries a punishment of up to 20 years, $250,000 and forfeiture of the property gained. Theft of government funds penalties are up to 10 years in prison and $250,000.
