Woman Makes Gruesome Discovery After Mom Dies

CHARLES TOWN, West Virginia (AP) -- The daughter of a woman made a gruesome discovery while going through her bedroom closet after she'd died -- the decomposing body of another woman wrapped in plastic, blankets and a sleeping bag.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department is trying to identify the corpse found April 3, a day after Beatrice Magaha suffered a stroke outside her home and hit her head. She died on the way to the hospital.
The next day, the daughter and her husband called police after being overwhelmed by the smell coming from the closet. Sgt. R.S. Sell said Wednesday he found the body of an elderly woman wrapped in layers on the closet floor.
The body appeared to have been there for a while. While an autopsy turned up no evidence of foul play, the death is being treated as suspicious.
DNA samples were taken from the body in an attempt to identify the remains. It could be several weeks before lab results are available, Sell said.
Sell said another woman had lived with Magaha but family members had not seen her for a year or two. The couple told Sell that whenever they visited Magaha, she would not allow them inside her home, about 15 miles south of Martinsburg.