Body Of 70-Year-Old Indiana Woman Found In Freezer

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 17, 2014 1:30PM

Officials in LaPorte, Ind. came upon a grisly discovery Sunday night when they found the body of a 70-year-old woman frozen solid in a small freezer. The woman lived with her 47-year-old boyfriend, Daniel Shoffner, on the 100 block of McClung Road. Shoffner has been arrested on a preliminary charge of murder. LaPorte County Prosecutor Robert Szilagyi said it was unknown how long the woman had been dead and that her body would have to be thawed in order to perform an autopsy.

LaPorte Police Chief Adam Klimczak said a 911 call was made around 8:18 p.m. Neighbors Robert and Charlene Peals said Shoffner had been living with the victim for months after the death of her husband. Robert Peals worked with the victim at a factory. Charlene Peals told the Herald Argus, “When you get old you want to die a normal death. You don’t want somebody to kill you.”

Another neighbor, Josh Montemayor, said the victim was a pleasant person and the staff of his bar would regularly clean up her yard.

La Porte County Coroner John Sullivan said a forensic autopsy would be performed by Dr. Joseph Prahlow at the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka partly because of a backlog caused by a spate of murders in the area. Until then, the cause of the woman’s death won’t be known. Police have up to 48 hours to bring formal charges to Shoffner and are expected to do so Wednesday.