A mid-Michigan judge on Tuesday ordered a man to spend two-to-eight years in prison for concealing the death of his wife while continuing to cash her Social Security checks.
In handing down the sentence, Isabella County Circuit Judge Mark Duthie told Terrell Lee York that the facts of the case are horrible and that Patricia Marie York’s family and friends should have had the chance to get closure.
“A body, after death, should be treated with respect,” Duthie said. “It shouldn’t be stuffed in the freezer like a piece of meat.”
York, of Dearfield Township, who was charged with concealing the death of an individual – a five-year felony – has an extensive criminal history that Duthie factored into his sentence, including convictions for forgery, assault, drunken driving and fraud.
York’s attorney, Ann Marie Chamberlain, told Duthie her client has mental health issues, was struggling to care for himself and lost his job because of health issues.
Patricia York’s daughter, Michelle McGraw, told Duthie via Zoom that her mother and York both struggled with addiction and mental health issues, and that York deserves the maximum sentence but at the same time needs psychological help.
Chamberlain also told the judge that York is having difficulty in jail with other inmates because of the nature of the charge.
York, 55, was arrested in April after a relative of Patricia York contacted the Isabella County Sheriff’s Office because they had not heard from her in almost two years after a falling out.
When deputies went to York’s rented home in the 800 block of West Baseline Road to check on Patricia, York was cagey and wouldn’t say specifically where she was living, only that she was with relatives in the Newago area, according to court records.
An Isabella County Sheriff’s detective sergeant spoke to Patricia’s sister, who said she got into a fight with her husband and that he was kicking her out of the house, according to court records.
Police arrested York on a bench warrant for failing to appear in court on a drunken driving charge in 2021, then obtained a search warrant, and ultimately found Patricia York in a chest freezer, according to court records.
During a jailhouse interview, York told police his wife died Sept. 13, 2022 of natural causes, that he did not notify authorities because he was afraid since she had been very ill before she died, according to court records.
York also admitted to police that he did not notify the Social Security Administration and continued to cash her checks to pay for food and bills, according to court records.
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