A married couple have confessed to 'living' with the dead body of an 'intimate partner' for more than a year that they hid after their dogs started 'chewing' his remains.
James David Agnew, 55, and his wife, Suzanne Ruth Agnew, 57, have been accused of living with the corpse of a man believed to be the third member of their threesome partnership for around 18 months in their Lakewood, Colorado, home.
The grim tale came to light when cops were alerted to perform a welfare check on 62-year-old James O'Neill, as his family members stated they had not seen him since 2019 or heard from him since 2021.
When Lakewood police visited the premises, they spoke to a man who identified himself as 'James', which the affidavit claims had 'appeared to be implying that he was James O'Neill'.
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However, law enforcement later identified him as James Agnew and reported O'Neill as missing.
When police returned to speak with the couple, cops noted the Agnews gave conflicting stories about the 'missing' man, stating that he had lived with them for a brief period of time before moving out after having met 'some foreign woman online'.
The Agnews then provided O'Neill's bank account and Social Security number to his brother on the grounds of an 'inheritance that needed to be deposited,' but then 'immediately stopped talking to him' when they learned the man would need to be physically present for the transaction to take place, police claim.
In checking his brother's bank balance, he found the card was in 'regular' use, including a monthly deposit of $967 in Social Security income, an overdraft around $200 and 'numerous ATM withdrawals'.
CCTV footage of a 7-Eleven where O'Neill's debit card was being used eventually rumbled James Agnew as to being behind the transactions.
Upon his arrest and a search warrant, Suzanne allegedly confessed to police that they would find O'Neill's body in their home, 'indicating he was deceased,' an officer wrote in the affidavit.
"Detectives searching the residence did find the body of a deceased male, presumed to be James O'Neill," it added.
In her interview, Suzanne said that the trio had been in a 'three way relationship' for years with the man they called Jim up until December 2023.
When O'Neill died, she added that they had covered the body with a deflated air mattress to stop their pet chihuahuas who had began 'chewing on him'.
She said she acknowledged it 'was wrong' not to report his death but that she did not want to 'give up' the man.
It is believed he passed due to a medical condition and/or drug use. The Agnews are not suspected of killing him.
James also reportedly admitted to using O'Neill's card.
Cops estimated they used roughly $17,406 of his Social Security money over the course of 18 months.
The affidavit adds: "James had less to say about Jim's passing but provided a similar account.
"He didn't remember exactly when Jim died but said he recalled it and could tell he was deceased. He didn't initially provide reasoning as to why the police were not contacted but later told me he was aware of the SSI income that went into Jim's account and said that was definitely a consideration in deciding whether or not to report his death."
The pair are currently behind bars and face a litany of charges, including tampering with a deceased human body and the abuse of a corpse, according to Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
James was charged with theft by larceny over $2,000 and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device over $2,000, plus two further counts of bringing contraband into a correctional facility, Law & Crime reports.
Meanwhile, Suzanne also faces charges of theft between 5,000 and $20,000, and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device in an amount between $5,000 and $20,000.