Texan arrested for living with dead mother's corpse and child for years

The suspect was living there with her underage daughter.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas, in August (photo credit: REUTERS)
Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas, in August
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Delissa Crayton, 47, of Seguin, Texas, is facing up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine after it was discovered that she and her daughter had been sharing her two bedroom apartment with her mother’s corpse for three years.
Local authorities believe that Crayton's 71-year-old mother died during a fall sometime around 2016. Police added that she did not provide the necessary care to her mother for "a few days" after the non-life-threatening injury; if she had, her mother could have survived.
The suspect at the time was living with her daughter, who police report is under the age of 15. They continued to stay together at their home with the body in one of the bedrooms. 
Crayton is being charged with injury to a child by omission for causing “serious mental deficiency, impairment or injury to her daughter," according to CBS News Dallas. The child has been placed with other family members by Child Protective Services.
Police said the investigation into Crayton's mother, Jacqueline Louise Crayton, led to the suspect's apartment Sunday night where authorities found the remains of the deceased on the bedroom floor and believe they have been stagnant there for three years - while the daughter and granddaughter slept in the other bedroom.


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