Two Ohio women are facing felony charges after allegedly propping up a dead man in their car during a visit to the bank to withdraw hundreds of dollars from his account before dropping him off at the hospital.
Karen Casbohm, 63, and Loreen Bea Feralo, 55, dropped off the body of Douglas Layman, 80, at Ashtabula County Medical Center emergency room on Monday and left without providing any information to the hospital, according to Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell and Ashtabula Prosecuting Attorney Cecilia Cooper.
Medical personnel had no idea who Layman was when the women dropped him off, but one of the women later called the hospital and provided some personal information about him, allowing authorities to identify him. Layman had died at his home in Ashtabula.
Casbohm and Feralo were charged with gross abuse of a corpse and theft. The women, who were not related to Layman but lived at his house, found him dead inside his home on Monday but decided not to call 911 and instead attempted to take money from his bank account.
The women are accused of propping Layman’s body up in the passenger seat of their car with the help of a third unidentified individual and driving through a bank drive-thru to withdraw around $900. They had propped Layman up so the bank teller could see him, as the bank previously allowed them to withdraw money from his account as long as he was in the vehicle.
The cause of Layman’s death is unknown, and the case remains under investigation. Casbohm appeared in court for her arraignment this week, with a judge setting her bond at $5,000. Feralo is scheduled to appear for her arraignment on Thursday.
If convicted, the women could face up to a year in prison on each charge. Both women have previous criminal histories, with Casbohm convicted of theft, soliciting, criminal trespass, and more, while Feralo has convictions for reckless assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, and more.
