New homeowners find teen’s body left in freezer
Previous renters Michael Shane Halstead, 44, and Karen Tsyinger Halstead, 43, were arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse
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A couple from Alabama are in police custody after the body of their teenage son was found stuffed into a broken freezer at a home they had rented by the new owners.
Michael Shane Halstead, 44, and Karen Tsyinger Halstead, 43, were arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, Henry County Sheriff’s office said.
The body of 19-year-old Logan Michael Halstead was found on Sunday morning by the new owners of the property – which had been previously rented by the Halsteads.
The new owners had begun to clean the appliance when they discovered a human hand, Sheriff Eric Blankenship told AL.com. The teenager’s family had rented out the home, but reportedly moved away more than a month before the property owner sold it.
“Throughout their course have them cleaning out the residence and they get to the backyard and cleaning up stuff in the backyard. That’s where they discovered the body and then that’s how we were notified,” Mr Blakenship told WTVY.
“This incident is a very tragic situation and our agency is committed to finding out the truth.
“The investigation is still ongoing and information will continue to be released as the case progresses.”
Logan Halstead suffered from medical issues, including spina bifida, WTVY reported.
Mr Blankenship told the station the father claimed he suffered a manic episode and didn’t remember how his son’s body got inside the non-working freezer.
He also claimed his wife was not involved, the sheriff said.
But Mr Blakenship added: “There was just a lot of discrepancies in the in the stories in the timelines and so forth, which kind of threw up some red flags with us that there might be you know, something else behind this or something that, that both parties are not being truthful about.”
The Halsteads are being held in jail without bond.
WTVY also reported that, according to multiple sources Mr Halstead has alerted police to his son’s remains in the freezer weeks before it was discovered, but officers had failed to find them in a previous search of the property.
According to court testimony, the bod was shrouded in tarps and blankets, with the remains placed in a cardboard box, the outlet reported.