LEAGUE CITY, Texas – A League City man was arrested after a body was found buried in the back yard of his mother's home, police said.
Officers were called to check on Joyce Timler, 73, at her house in the 3100 block of Sand Reef Lane and Anchor Way Wednesday evening. Detectives said employees at the woman's bank called them because of suspicious activity with her account.
When officers arrived, they said the woman's 54-year-old son, John Scott Timler, gave them conflicting information on her whereabouts. At one point, John Timler said his mother was not home but would be later, police said.
Police said they were suspicious of John Timler's statements, so they got a search warrant and came back on Thursday.
Investigators said they found freshly overturned dirt in the back yard and then found Joyce Timler's body. The body was badly decomposed and wrapped in an air mattress, sources close to the case said.
Investigators said John Timler confessed to burying his mother in the back yard.
John Timler was arrested and charged with abuse of corpse and forgery. He's being held on a $100,000 bond.
Investigators said they believe John Timler may have been writing checks using his mother's account.
Joyce Timler's cause of death has not yet been determined. John Timler has not been charged in connection with her death.
Neighbors said John Timler had shared his financial troubles with them.
"I had spoke to him about two months ago," neighbor Freddie McLemore said. "He had borrowed money from some of our neighbors, and he had told us someone stole their identity and cleaned out their bank account."
McLemore said his wife noticed something odd at the home recently.
"My wife noticed the yard hadn't been done in three months," he said. "The lady really took care of her flowerbed -- weeded out there in the flowerbed."
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