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Men plead not guilty to stealing from dead Graham woman

Published  June 30, 2015 7:10am PDT
Associated Press

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Two men accused of finding a Graham, Washington woman's body, burglarizing her home, hiding the body and assuming her identity have pleaded not guilty in court.

The News Tribune of Tacoma reports that James Lawrence Conner pleaded not guilty Monday to 10 felonies: first-degree theft, first-degree identity theft, car theft, six counts of forgery and unlawful disposal of human remains.

Curtis Lee Jones pleaded not guilty to third-degree possession of stolen property for allegedly accepting some of the stolen goods.

Prosecutors say 63-year-old Janet Mueller died of natural causes while unloading horse feed from her truck. Her body was found wrapped in a tent at Conner's home.

Prosecutors say Mueller's credit union alerting police to unusual activity on her account. Two of her three cars had been registered in Conner's name.