Woman jailed after corpse of mother found in home

FAYETTEVILLE — A Lincoln woman was arrested Monday after police say she kept her mother’s corpse in her home for several months so she could spend the woman’s Social Security benefits.

Geanee Pike, 54, of 11940 Nicewarner Road was arrested on accusations of abuse of a corpse and financial identity fraud. Pike was being held Tuesday in the Washington County jail with no bail set.

Gloria Pike, 72, was reported missing July 21 by her brother, George Maness, according to a report from the Washington County sheriff’s office. Maness lives on the same property as Gloria Pike in a house next door to hers. Maness told deputies that he hadn’t seen his sister since August 2020. He said she had stage four breast cancer and had been living with Geanee Pike.

Deputies attempted several times to contact Gloria Pike at the home in Lincoln, according to the report.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Autumn Holland spoke July 21 with Geanee Pike, who said her mother wasn’t missing but was with “an unknown friend at an unknown location,” according to the report. Holland asked for consent to look in the house, and Pike refused. Pike also told that Holland she didn’t have access to her mother’s bank account or check card, the report noted.

During the investigation Holland subpoenaed Gloria Pike’s bank records and found a transaction on July 27 at the Dollar General Store in Lincoln. Security camera video showed Geanee Pike using her mother’s check card.

A search warrant for the Nicewarner Road residence was obtained, and during the search officers noted there was no running water and human feces and urine was being collected in buckets and jugs throughout the house. A woman’s body was found on a bed in the living room/ kitchen area next to Geanee Pike’s bedroom, according to the report. The mummified body was wrapped in newspaper from 2020 and bedding was wrapped over the newspaper. The body is being sent to the state Crime laboratory for positive identification and to determine the cause and manner of death.

Pike was at home during the search, according to the report. Pike agreed to speak with Holland and said her mother died last year of natural causes, but she didn’t report it. Pike said her mother owed her money she had promised to pay from her monthly Social Security disability checks. She said she continued to use her mother’s bank account after her death.