UT - Jeanne Souron-Mathers, 75, found deceased with male body in her freezer, Tooele, 26 Nov 2019

[Marg from Oz]

So did she commit suicide and put the letter for all to see or had the letter been sitting in that position for 11 plus years? Something sounds funny to me.

 

[al66pine]

VA? Soc Sec? Entitled to Receive or Not? When?

Apparently she was getting his pension money, so there's that - but she would have been eligible anyway as a widow. It's very odd.

@Blurgle Very sad.
Would she have been elegible to receive the same amt for as many yrs as she (apparently) actually did? Either SS or VA? Doubtful imo.
Seems if she had applied for SS payments based on his employment records, she (and/or someone else?) must have presented false info to fed govt. jmo

Husband was 58 y/o, when last seen in 2009, so at that point--
--- He would have been too young to receive SS payments (assuming he did not collect SS disablity payments at that time).
--- He may hv/bn eligible already to have started receiving VA retirement benefits if he had served enough time (20 yrs?) and could have been receiving those payments for many years prior to death.

Wife was 65 y/o, per Dec. 2019 article, so in Feb-Mar of 2009 (suspected time of his death) -
---she would have been ~ 55 y/o, too young to receive payments based on her own employment record (assuming she had not collect SocSec disablity payments on her own emp record at that time).
Starting at age 62, ~ 2016, she may have begun receiving SocSec payments based on her own emp. record.
Or even at 65 y/o at her 2019 death, possible she had not yet applied for SS payments on her own emp. record (can be deferred until age 70).

Wife's benefits, based on his SS emp record.
--- Before his 2009 death, she (55 y/o) wd/not h/bn entitled to any SS payments based on his emp record.
--- After his 2009 death, if she had reported it, what SS payment based on his emp record, would she have recvd starting then? She was ~ 55 y/o, too young to receive, IIUC.

Wife's benefits, VA thru his military service.
--- Before his 2009 death? IDK how much, if anything, she had been receiving in VA payments.
--- After his 2009 death? Not sure. IIUC, in some cases after death of husband/military serivce member, VA retirement payments to a surviving spouse/widow decrease to 1/2 the previous amt, which had paid while husband & wife were living. If so (big if), then after his death, she received twice the VA $$$ she was entitled to. May have been different in this case.
All jmo.

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"....preliminary report indicates that if our time frame is accurate” and Mathers died in February or March 2009, “she would received more than $157,000 in VA benefits” after he died, Hansen said. Police are also investigating whether Souron-Mathers continued to receive Social Security benefits for her husband." *
^ Hansen = Chief of Tooele PD
* ^ Dec. 17, 2019 Man whose body was in his wife’s freezer for 10 years may have written a letter absolving her of blame

 

[Laughing]

Bernie (2011 film) - Wikipedia

Death & a freezer, great for your Quaran-time viewing.

JMHO YMMV

 

[al66pine]

Bernie (2011 film) - Wikipedia

Death & a freezer, great for your Quaran-time viewing. JMHO YMMV

@Laughing Thanks for reminder about ^ movie, a dramatization (not a documentary) about this 1996 death, w victim's remains found in freezer. Despite Jack Black as perp, the movie, based on Skip Hollandsworth's article in May 1998 Texas Monthly Mag. below is neither a laughing matter nor slapstick.

"A charming assistant funeral home director in a small Texas town murders a wealthy widow, keeps her in a freezer for months, finally gets caught, and still has the town’s sympathy as his case goes to trial" *
^ http://www.texasmonthly.com/cms/printthis.php?file=feature4.php&issue=1998-01-01

{{{ETA: Just found sleuther threads on this case in Recently Sentenced & Beyond"
GUILTY - TX - Marjorie Nugent, 81, slain, found in freezer, Carthage, 19 Nov 1996 }}}
_____________________________________________________
More re case & perp, see Bernie Tiede - Wikipedia @Laughing thx for this.
More re case & movie
“... The town refused to abandon Bernie ... ‘From the day that deep freeze was opened, you haven’t been able to find anyone in town saying, “Poor Mrs. Nugent,” ’ said city councilman Olin Joffrion, a respected Carthage insurance agent. ‘People here are saying, “Poor Bernie.’’ ‘
“In fact, throughout last fall, a stream of mostly female well-wishers visited Bernie in jail, bringing him cakes and pies. ‘If I made a list of people I knew were going to heaven,’ one woman told the Houston Chronicle, ‘Bernie would be the first on that list.’ ... A disgusted Danny Buck told me, ‘It’s almost as if everyone has already forgotten that an elderly lady was shot to death.’ ”
^ summary ^ Longform’s Guide to Texas True Crime
Also at ^ slate.com link, more true crime longform articles by Hollandsworth. Great writer.

 

[cds0902]

So was she living it up on his SS benefits?

I don’t think “living it up is the correct term”for all we know this may be the very reason this happened as it did, she was more than likely relying on those benefits to “survive”, and he knew w/o that money she had no where to go. She would still get his money after his passing but at a reduced amount if it was social security. Sounds like he wanted to protect her. Apparently the son was hers and not his???

 

[NervousNellie]

I don’t think “living it up is the correct term”for all we know this may be the very reason this happened as it did, she was more than likely relying on those benefits to “survive”, and he knew w/o that money she had no where to go. She would still get his money after his passing but at a reduced amount if it was social security. Sounds like he wanted to protect her. Apparently the son was hers and not his???

RBBM
I am not so sure that is the case... I have a colleague whose mother recently got all of her husband's social security. She went from her monthly amount (~$300) to a a little bit more than what had been his monthly amount after his death (~$800). She had been a SAHM for most of her life and he had retired from the government.

How long were they married? Maybe the Mathers were not married long enough for Jeanne to qualify for his benefits.

 

[al66pine]

SocSec Payments to Surviving Widow?

RBBM I am not so sure that is the case...

@NervousNellie sbm Agreeing w you. Also duration of marriage may factor in.

.... She would still get his money after his passing but at a reduced amount if it was social security. Sounds like he wanted to protect her.

@cds0902 sbm

Husband was 58 y/o, when last seen in 2009, so at that point, he would have been too young to receive SS payments (assuming he did not collect SS disablity payments) and not elegible to apply until ~2013. At age 62, he was still not 'full retirement age", so that would have been for slightly reduced payments for him.

Did she (and/or someone else) apply for SS payments based on his employment records and provide false info to SSA/fed gov't, i.e., he was still alive?

Would she have been elegible to receive the same SS payment for as many yrs as she (apparently) actually did? Doubtful imo.
Wife's benefits, based on his SS emp record.
--- Before his 2009 death, she (55 y/o) wd/not h/bn entitled to any SS payments based on his emp record, IIUC
--- After his 2009 death, if she had reported it/or not have applied w false info, what SS payment based on his emp record, would she have recvd starting then? She was ~ 55 y/o, too young to receive, IIUC.

Thoughts re VA payments at ^ post 22.