Man accused of living with mother's corpse

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Police in Louisville, Ky., allege a 52-year-old man lived in a local home with the corpse of his dead mother for several months.

Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said Julius Harris was charged with abuse of a corpse and theft by deception after the body of his mother, Sina B. Harris, 89, was allegedly found in his home Friday, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported.

Deputy Coroner Jim Wesley said an autopsy on the woman's remains indicate she died sometime in May. Wesley said with heart medications being found in the same bedroom where the body was located, it is likely she died of ischemic heart disease.

The body was found in a back bedroom of the home she shared with her son after a tense standoff between Julius Harris and police ended with his surrender early Friday.

Smiley told The Courier-Journal when police officers visited the Harris home Thursday to check on Sina B. Harris's welfare, her son allegedly answered the door with a gun to his head.