7:45 p.m. AP) — A southeast Kansas sheriff is hoping that fingerprints will identify a body partially hidden behind a home whose owner is in custody.

Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet says it’s also possible the identity won’t be known for weeks because the body is badly decomposed.

Officers found the body Monday in the backyard of a home southwest of Augusta after a neighbor requested a welfare check. The 54-year-old woman who owns the home was arrested on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter and other charges, and had a court appearance scheduled Wednesday.

Herzet said Tuesday the body appears to be an adult, but investigators weren’t sure if it was male or female.

The sheriff says deputies have been to the home many times on domestic violence complaints.

 

 

(AP) — The Butler County Sheriff says a woman is in custody after a decomposing body was found in the backyard of a house southwest of Augusta.

Sheriff Kelly Herzet say officers found the body after a neighbor called asking for a welfare check at the home. The homeowner was later arrested and is facing charges of voluntary manslaughter, criminal desecration and two counts of obstructing the legal process.

Herzet says the body is so badly decomposed that investigators are unsure if it’s a woman or man, but he believes it is an adult. The body was not buried but efforts were made to hide it.

The sheriff says deputies have been to the home many times on domestic violence complaints.

The victim’s identity has not been released.