N.Y. man charged with freezing mom, cashing checks

[March 26, 2009]  COLCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- An upstate New York man has been accused of stashing his 98-year-old mother's dead body in a freezer in their home so he could keep cashing her Social Security checks.

State police say they discovered Herta Auslander's body in a freezer chest in October after receiving a tip she had died more than a year earlier. An autopsy concluded she died of natural causes.

Police say 69-year-old Roland Auslander eluded capture for months but was arrested Wednesday following a stakeout at his home in the Delaware County hamlet of Cooks Falls, about 100 miles northwest of New York City. They say he's charged with grand larceny, unlawful disposal of human remains and forgery for faking his mother's signature.

He's jailed and can't be reached for comment. Police say they don't know if he has a lawyer.

[Associated Press]

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