Woman Hid Mom’s Body for Months, Waiting on ‘God to Resurrect Her’
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A Brooklyn Center woman has been charged after authorities say she concealed the body of her deceased mother inside a home for months.
Officers responded to a residence in the 3000 block of 56th Avenue North on Dec. 30, 2022, after getting a report that a 73-year-old woman there had been found unresponsive.
When officers arrived, they determined the woman had been dead for one to two months based on the level of decomposition.
According to a criminal complaint, investigators spoke with the woman’s daughter, identified in court documents as 55-year-old Charice Antonette Goude.
Goude told officers she knew it sounded “crazy,” but admitted she didn’t report her mother’s death because she was “waiting on God to resurrect her,” the documents said. Goude also revealed that she had been her mother’s sole caretaker but had stopped giving her prescribed medications—including for diabetes and high blood pressure—and was opting instead for “natural” treatment.
A man who also lived in the home—identified as Goude’s ex-husband—told police that he had last seen the deceased woman before Thanksgiving. He said he primarily stayed in the basement but recently noticed a strong odor, initially believing it was from a dead animal. The man told investigators he thought something might have died in the walls. Investigating the smell further, he then entered a bedroom and found the woman deceased before calling authorities.
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Officers found multiple Glade plug-in air fresheners, Febreze bottles, candles in the kitchen and other items apparently used to mask the smell. Text messages from Dec. 2022 also indicated that Goude suggested their holiday party be moved due to the "scent" of possibly a dead rodent and asked the group members to bring candles if they had any.
An autopsy by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office did not determine an exact cause of death but noted contributing factors such as hypertension, hypothyroidism and dementia. Toxicology results showed no evidence that the deceased had been taking her prescribed medications.
Goude has been charged with one count of interference with a dead body, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. She was charged via summons and is expected to make an initial court appearance in March.
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