Monday 20 June 2022 09:34 PM Woman, 66, charged with murdering her retired deputy sheriff husband and then ... trends now
A woman has been charged with killing her retired deputy sheriff husband and burning his naked body on their back porch.
Evelyn Zigerelli-Henderson, 66, stands accused of criminal homicide, aggravated arson, and arson, following a grisly discovery at the couple's house Thursday, in the Pennsylvania suburb of Susquehanna, 40 miles north of Scranton.
Cops said that when they came across the badly burned body of 84-year-old Carmen Henderson at around 5am, fly larvae found in the former Dauphin County chief deputy sheriff's nose and mouth indicated he had been dead for some time.
Larvae typically form in a rotting corpse after one to three days.
Lawmen came across the ex-cop's savaged body after Zigerelli-Henderson, a former political candidate and politician in the county, called 911 to tell dispatchers she suspected her husband had set himself on fire, a probable cause affidavit shows.
However, cops said she took four hours to make the call - and once cops arrived, she could not keep a straight story, spurring officers to become suspicious.
According to police, the dispatcher wrote in notes of Zigerelli-Henderson late-night call: 'Something is very off with the caller. She is hesitant to answer questions.'
The wife also allegedly admitted her husband, who retired in 1995, had a $10,000 life insurance policy, with her listed as the sole beneficiary.
Evelyn Zigerelli-Henderson, 66, stands accused of criminal homicide, aggravated arson, and arson, following cops' grisly discovery at the couple's house Thursday, in the Pennsylvania suburb of Susquehanna, 40 miles north of Scranton
Cops said that when they came across the badly burned body of 84-year-old Carmen Henderson (pictured in this undated photo) at around 5am, fly larvae found in the ex Dauphin County chief deputy sheriff's nose and mouth indicated he had been dead longer than his wife had told officers, causing them to become suspicious and eventually arrest the widow
Cops said it was not immediately clear when the former officer died, and have yet to release a cause of death.
Officers arrived at the home, located on 306 Stuart Place, to find Henderson, severely burned and nude on the couple’s back patio, police wrote in Zigerelli-Henderson's warrant.
Police soon came to suspect Zigerelli-Henderson, however, after her story about her finding her husband's burned body began to change as she was questioned by investigators.
Initially, she claimed it was a suicide, cops said - but as she was was prodded further, the woman allegedly shifted her story to say her husband had accidentally set himself alight while smoking a cigar on the porch.
That assertion came after officers caught Zigerelli-Henderson in what appeared to be a lie, after she told dispatchers during the 911 call
