WCHS – Two men will be charged with concealing a woman’s body after it was found in a freezer in Cross Lanes and one of them previously was charged with using her stolen credit card.
Samuel May, 44, and Arnold Hiller, 47, will be charged with concealing the body of a woman who deputies believe was Cynthia Mudd, 71, whose body was found Aug. 19 in a freezer in the back yard of her home on Saulton Drive, Kanawha County Chief Deputy Joe Crawford said Tuesday during a news conference.
Crawford said no one has been charged in her death so far, but he said the two men, who were believed to be living at the home, are the main focus of the investigation.
A criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court said May told investigators when he was asked what happened to Mudd, he said he killed her. The complaint said he was unable to give specific details because he “blacked out.”
May told investigators that he and Hiller had been drinking at a local bar. After they returned, he said, he blacked out and woke up the next morning. He told investigators he assumed he had something to do with the bruises that were found on the victim’s body, but he couldn’t explain how they got there. He said he rolled the woman’s body up in a carpet and put it in the freezer.
When asked whether May was the person who killed the woman, Crawford said “people say a lot of things, now whether it actually happened or not” remains to be seen. He said investigators have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what happened.
The sheriff’s office is still waiting for a report from the state Medical Examiner’s Office with a positive identification of the body and the cause of death.
Crawford said deputies originally went to the Cross Lanes home on Aug. 18 after a report about the missing 71-year-old woman. He said they did a preliminary search of the property, but no one answered the door.
On Aug. 19, deputies returned to the property after receiving a report that a freezer that used to be in the house was in the back yard. The woman’s body was discovered inside the freezer, which was unplugged and on the back of the property.
It is unclear how long the woman’s body was in the freezer. According to the criminal complaint, May said the body had been there for about 30 days.
Crawford said the two men are believed to have been together for about a week in Kanawha City after the death. Hiller was arrested in Beckley and is charged with using the woman’s credit card. He said May is also suspected of using the card, but no charges have been filed against him related to that allegation.
May was arrested by Charleston police on city-related charges.
Both suspects are lodged in jail, Crawford said.
The chief deputy said more charges are anticipated, and he appealed to the public to contact authorities if they have any additional information in the case. He said investigators want to bring the woman’s family closure.
“It’s a puzzle and we are trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle,” Crawford said.
May, Hiller and Mudd are not related, but investigators do believe they were all living at the home. He said the sheriff’s office is still looking into the relationship of the three people, and investigators believe that May and Mudd had some sort of relationship at one point.
The chief deputy said authorities have received previous calls about the home in Cross Lanes where the woman was found, including one that was domestic related.
