ROSEVILLE, Mich. – A Roseville woman is accused of murdering her mother, putting her body in a plastic container and using her cellphone for months to send text messages to family members to make it look as if she was still alive, police said.
Roseville police officers said they went to a house in the 29000 block of Congress Street around 10 a.m. Tuesday for a welfare check. Family members of a 69-year-old woman told authorities they were concerned about their grandmother.
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When officers arrived, the woman’s daughter, Carol Rey, 50, of Roseville, answered the door and “appeared to be evasive when asked questions about her mother,” according to officials.
Police obtained a search warrant to enter the house and check on the mother.
Officers said they found the woman dead inside the detached garage around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. She had been concealed in a plastic tote container, police said.
Rey, who also lives at the home on Congress Street, was brought in for questioning Tuesday, police said. A 34-year-old man acquainted was questioned and released, according to authorities.
Investigators said the mother was shot in the head and killed inside the home sometime in November. Police said Rey concealed the body in the plastic container and moved it to the detached garage.
After the woman’s death, there were financial activities related to her various accounts, police said. Those transactions are still under investigation.
Officials said Rey used her mother’s phone after her death to send text messages to other family members, posing as her mother to make it look like she was still alive.
A clear motive for the homicide has not been determined, police said.
Rey was arraigned Friday at 39th District Court in Roseville. She is charged with first-degree murder, larceny of $20,000 or more and a felony firearm violation.
Rey is being held without bail. She is scheduled to return to court Jan. 29.