Police Find Man’s Decomposing Body Inside Neighbor’s Closet

KEY POINTS

James Trigg, 62, was indicted over the death of his 55-year-old neighbor, Oliver Shanks
Shanks' decomposing body was discovered under a pile of clothes in Trigg's bedroom closet
A camera captured the two entering the apartment weeks prior to the discovery of the corpse

A 62-year-old man in Shelby County, Tennessee has been charged after he allegedly stabbed his neighbor to death and hid the decomposing body in his bedroom closet under a pile of clothes for over two weeks.

James Trigg was indicted on second-degree and other felony related charges over the death of his 55-year-old neighbor, Oliver Shanks, WAPT reported, citing the Shelby County District Attorney's Office.

Police were called to an apartment in the 2900 block of Northill Cove in Memphis on April 14, 2020, and they discovered Shanks' decomposing body under a pile of clothes in a bedroom closet.

Authorities determined Shanks' body had been stabbed several times, a report by FOX 13 Memphis said, citing a statement by Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich.

Surveillance footage showed Trigg entering the apartment with Shanks two weeks prior to the discovery on the night of March 30, with the former leaving alone in the following morning. Prosecutors said the surveillance footage also showed Trigg entering and leaving the apartment multiple times before Shanks' body was discovered.

A grand jury also indicted Trigg on additional charges of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse, as per WAPT. He was held on a $100,000 bond as of Tuesday.

The case is being handled by Assistant District Attorney Abby Wallace of the District Attorney's Special Prosecution Unit in Criminal Court Division 8, a unit that seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders.

A similar incident happened two months ago when a mother from Cincinnati, Ohio was indicted after police found her missing 19-year-old son's decomposing corpse hidden underneath a pile of clothes in a bedroom inside her home.

Kenya Stallworth, 39, was indicted on one count of murder and one count of felonious assault by a Hamilton County grand jury on April 13 in connection to the death of her son, Dominic Allen.

Stallworth and her 35-year-old boyfriend, Robert Robb, who was not Allen's biological father, were arrested in early December of last year after authorities found Allen's corpse hidden inside a bedroom in the Westwood house the couple shared.

Court documents revealed Allen had died in the bedroom on Sept. 26, 2020, the day he was reportedly last seen. His body was identified in March by the Hamilton County Coroner's Office using DNA testing.