Constant Companion: Woman Keeps Dead Body of Friend in Home for 18 Months

A 72-year-old Michigan woman kept the dead body of her male companion in her home for over 18 months so she could have someone with whom she could watch NASCAR racing on television!

Police found the mummified remains of 65-year-old Charles Zigler seated in a barcalounger in the home belonging to Linda Chase of Jackson, Michigan. Authorities believe Zigler passed away of natural causes around December of 2010, although Chase claims he only died this past December.

Chase told police that she kept the body clean and dressed in fresh clothes, in a scene right out of the 80s B-movie classic Weekend at Bernie's. She often carried on conversations with the corpse, especially during NASCAR races being broadcast on television. "It’s not that I’m heartless... I didn’t want to be alone. He was the only guy who was ever nice to me," Chase is quoted as saying.

Chase has not been arrested for keeping the body of Zigler in her home, but she is being investigated for insurance fraud after admitting to cashing Zigler's benefit checks that were mailed to the residence. The police were alerted that something was amiss after Zigler's son tried numerous times to visit with his father, with Chase refusing to let him inside the residence each time.

"I'm probably going to prison," Chase admitted.

Pet Cemetery: Man Uses Fake Dead Cat Claim to Defraud Insurance

A man in Washington State has been charged with fraud after allegedly filing a phony insurance claim for a dead cat that never existed.

Yevgeniy M. Samsonov, 29, was involved in a minor fender-bender in 2009, when the car he was driving was hit in the rear by another car while he was stopped at a red light. Samsonov would later file an insurance claim for soft tissue damage to the face that allegedly took place at the time of the accident. He was eventually awarded $3,452 from the other driver's insurer, PEMCO.

Fast forward two and a half years later, and Samsonov then files a second claim, stating that his beloved pet cat Tom had been killed in the accident. The insurance company initially wrote him out a $50 check for the claim. Samsonov, however, insisted that this was hardly enough restitution money for the loss of his cherished pet feline, claiming he had paid over a thousand dollars for the animal and that he was "like a son" to him.

Samsonov also sent photographs of "Tom" to the insurance company, asking for $20,000 to cover the loss of the cat. Before forking over another check, the insurance company decided to do a little bit of investigating, googling images of white cats with blue eyes, as in the photograph Samsonov had sent them. They quickly discovered that Samsonov had submitted photographs of "Tom" to various web sites. They also discovered that the photographs were actually of two entirely different cats.

Samsonov has been charged with first-degree attempted theft and felony insurance fraud, with an arraignment scheduled for next week.