Death of mom buried in back yard ruled homicide

LEAGUE CITY, Texas – The death of a woman whose body was found buried in her back yard has been ruled a homicide.

League City police said Joyce Timler's body was found in the 3100 block of Sand Reef Lane near Anchor Way on Thursday. Her body was wrapped in an air mattress and was badly decomposed, investigators said.

Detectives said they found Timler's body after getting a call from her bank. Employees there noticed suspicious activity with her account and became worried.

Police said they went to Timler's home on Wednesday, where they met her 54-year-old son, John. Investigators said he gave them conflicting information, so they got a search warrant and came back Thursday.

John Timler confessed to burying his mother in the back yard, police said.  

The medical examiner's office determined that Joyce Timler's death was a homicide, but investigators are working to determine exactly how and when she died.

He is also suspected of writing checks using his mother's account, detectives said.

Neighbors said John Timler told them he was having financial trouble.

"He had borrowed some money from some of our neighbors," neighbor Freddie McLemore said. "He had told us someone stole their identity and cleaned out their bank account."

John Timler has been charged with abuse of a corpse and forgery. He's being held in jail with bond set at $100,000. He had not been charged in connection with his mother's death.