Authorities have identified the skeletal remains of a 95-year-old woman found inside a Clearwater, Fla., U-Stor Self Storage unit in January as Ann Bunch. The womans body was discovered inside a plywood coffin after her granddaughter defaulted on the unit and notified the self-storage facility about the body when threatened with a lien auction.
The granddaughter, Rebecca Ann Fancher, inherited the unit from her mother. Fancher said her mother had placed Bunchs body in the storage unit because she could not afford to transport Bunch to a burial plot in Alabama. Fancher said she was unaware of her grandmother's remains being stored in the unit until her mother divulged the information on her deathbed.
Bunchs body was positively identified through DNA analysis.
No criminal charges were brought in the case. Although improper storage of a body is a crime in Florida, public safety officials determined Fanchers deceased mother was responsible for placing Bunchs body in the storage unit.
A Masonic lodge with ties to Bunch's second husband reportedly paid to transport her body to its intended burial destination, a Baptist church near Columbiana, Ala.
Sources:
- Tampa Bay Times: Officials Confirm Identity of Body Found in Clearwater Storage Unit
