FLOYD COUNTY, Ga – A Georgia man is charged with the murder of his grandmother and concealing her body in a freezer for months after a non-fatal injury.
Floyd County Police said the elderly woman was still alive and breathing when she was frozen in place, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
Late Thursday law enforcement officers discovered the body of 82-year-old Doris Cumming. She had been living in northwest Georgia with her grandson, 28-year-old Robert Keith Tincher III.
Family members thought Cumming moved out of state, yet became worried after not hearing from her and feared she was missing.
Investigation revealed that Cumming fell and was injured in December. Rather than seek medical attention for his grandmother, Tincher reportedly dragged her through the home and subsequently placed her in the deep freeze.
“From what we determined, at the time, he believed she was still breathing and had some movement at the time she was going into the freezer,” Floyd County Investigator Brittany Werner told FOX 5.
Tincher “heard and saw numerous bones break,” according to criminal charges. During the process, he reportedly wrapped her in plastic bags before stuffing her body in a large freezer.
Tincher “acknowledged her back broke going into the freezer.” There was “no altercation or provocation” leading up to the acts, according to police.
Meanwhile, Tincher lived in the residence with the body inside the freezer for months. In March, he moved it to a storage unit fearing she might be discovered, the New York Post reported.
Tincher didn’t notify police since he reportedly had a warrant for his arrest for making threats against his wife in 2018, police said.
During his interview with investigators, Tincher claimed that he loved his grandmother.
“He absolutely loved his grandmother,” Tincher said, according to Werner. “She was the only family member who gave him the courtesy and love and attention he needed.”
An autopsy will be performed by a medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to determine Cumming’s cause of death.
Tincher is charged with murder, aggravated battery and concealing the death, officials said.
