Sebastian - Friday July 8, 2022: A Sebastian woman who hid her dead mother in a freezer has been arrested on allegations of failing to report the death and tampering with evidence.
Sixty-four year old Michelle Hoskins was taken into custody after a warrant for her arrest was issued. She is currently in the Indian River County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Back on April 28 Sebastian Police executed a search warrant at Hoskins' home in the 100 block of Paddock Street. Inside a large freezer in the garage they recovered the body of Michelle's mother, 93 year old Marie Hoskins.
According to a release posted on the Sebastian Police Department Facebook page, an autopsy found that Marie died of natural causes and that she had been dead for about two weeks before being placed inside the chest freezer. In the backyard of the home, covered by thick brush and palm branches, police found a heavily soiled bed mattress.
When Michelle Hoskins was interviewed by detectives she admitted to finding her mother dead in bed, and decided to buy a deep freezer to conceal the death so that she would continue to get her mother's disability benefits, according to the release.