A Kentucky man arrested after police found the mummified remains of his disabled sister in the trunk of his car was set to appear in court Wednesday for an extradition hearing.
Timothy Allen Brown, 36, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in St. Louis on Tuesday night, said Georgetown Police Chief Greg Reeves.
The severely decomposed body of 31-year-old Penny Brown was discovered Friday after police towed the car from St. Louis to Kentucky. They had received complaints that it had been on the street for several days.
Brown has been charged with abuse or neglect of an adult, a felony in Kentucky, Reeves said. He could face additional federal charges in Kentucky for allegedly cashing his sister's disability checks, Reeves said Wednesday.
Timothy Brown signed his wheelchair-dependent sister out of a nursing home in 2006, and the remains may have been in his apartment for two years, police said. Officials have said they may not be able to determine how she died.
Lee Messmer, a U.S. Marshal's assistant chief deputy in St. Louis, said Brown had been in the St. Louis area probably for a couple of weeks. He was arrested Tuesday night at a library, Messmer said.
Brown's car was found last week when police responded to a complaint that it had been on a street for several days. Police had the car towed more than 300 miles back to Kentucky where they found the badly decomposed body wrapped in quilts and plastic.
Reeves said a local Kentucky police officer had visited Timothy Brown's apartment Sept. 20 as part of a child welfare case involving his 8-year-old son, who was taken from the residence after social service workers found deplorable conditions. Reeves said the boy mentioned that he hadn't seen his aunt "in some time," and was not allowed into her room.
Reeves said officers found evidence of decomposition in the room that matched the remains in the trunk.