SocSec Robber gets slap on wrist for hiding corpse in WI

[ronpaulhawaii]

MAUSTON, Wis. (AP) - Prosecutors say a religious leader in Necedah won't go to trial on charges of helping a follower hide a dead woman's body on a toilet for about two months.

The Juneau County district attorney's office said a hearing on a plea agreement is scheduled Feb. 5, and the April trial of Alan Bushey (boo-SHAY') is canceled. The 58-year-old Bushey is charged with hiding a corpse, two counts of causing mental harm to a child and two counts of theft.

Prosecutors say Bushey and Tammy Lewis kept the body of a 90-year-old woman in the bathroom while continuing to collect her Social Security checks.

The 36-year-old Lewis pleaded no contest in November to a misdemeanor of obstructing a police officer and was fined $350. More serious charges will be dropped in two years if she cooperates with prosecutors and follows court orders involving her children.
Information from: WEAU-TV, http://www.weau.com (http://www.weau.com/)

[heavenlyboy34]

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[ronpaulhawaii]

I wonder what the back story is? Regardless, letting the "religious" leader off, scott free...

???

[Kludge]

This wouldn't be so shocking if the kids weren't kept in the house with the decaying body.

http://freedomeden.blogspot.com/2008/05/tammy-d-lewis-and-alan-bushey.html

[asimplegirl]

well, it is just like disposing of a body improperly..not a big charge...but, the theft was probably not a huge amount...keeping the body and letting a kid around it is the worst part...

I mean, what, did they take the 600 dollars that the woman would've gotten for two months?

Whatever, it's stupid, makes no sense, and of course the religious leader gets off scott-free...what else is new?

The "kids" were 15 and 12...old enough to call the cops. Its not like it was a 4 year old.

They can still face charges for frauding the state if found guilty of stealing the checks later.


Lewis told the deputy that Middlesworth had died about two months earlier, but that God told her Middlesworth would come to life if she prayed hard enough.


When Bushey arrived, Lewis told the deputy that Middlesworth had appeared to pass out as Lewis helped her into her underwear.

She said she propped Middlesworth on the toilet and left the room to call Bushey, who told her to leave the woman alone and pray for her, the complaint said. He said he had received signs that God would raise her from the dead with a miracle.


...The boy at the house told a detective he had considered running away because he was uncomfortable with the situation. He said Bushey told him that demons were trying to make it look as if Middlesworth wouldn't come back to life, and that if she were to be discovered he and the girl would have to go to public school and get jobs because Middlesworth paid the bills.

There is much more to the story than the OP said.

[asimplegirl]

From the comments on the link Klude posted:

From someone who apparently knows Lewis:


ok before anyone else leaves a comment about this woman i should let you know that shes not the one to entirely blame btu she does have a big part in it. Her husband left her and she was left with nothing, no education, no job, no money, no hope. she was absolutely miserabl and didnt know what to do and how to survive and she just found this messed up guy and believed him, shes not right in the head and thought she finally found safety there, btu unfortunately that was definately the wrong place to go , and yes the kids are scared for life and i feel so bad for them btu dont go around judging tammy bc there was a huge reason that lead to this insanity. -anonomyous


i SAW THIS ON THE NEWS THIS MORNING AND COULDN'T BELIEVE THE RESEMBLENCE TO MY EX HUSBANDS SISTER. THE NAME IS THE SAME THE KIDS AGES WERE RIGHT TOO, AND SHE USED TO BE A CNA. I HAVENT HEARD FROM HER FOR 4 YEARS. LAST I KNEW SHE WAS MARRIED LIVING IN MAUSTON. GOD, PLEASE DONT LET THIS BE THE SAME PERSON. THE TAMMY I KNEW ...IF THIS IS THE SAME PERSON, WAS VERY SWEET AND A WONDERFUL MOM. I PRAY THAT SOMETHING SO HORRIBLE COULD NOT BE TRUE OF A WOMAN WHO I CONSIDERED FAMILY. ...FOR THOSE OF YOU READING ALL THIS...PLEASE PRAY FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED...ESPECIALLY THE KIDS.


My wonderful Mother lived two houses away from Mrs. Middlestat and knew both Tammy Lewis and "Bishop" Bushy. Mom spoke of Tammy as a very kind and sweet "nurse-nun". Mom belonged to Bushy's church and said Bushy could be very carismatic but very pushy, and everyone had to do as he said. He wanted Mom to have long black skirts and call herself a nun also (but she didn't). Tammy was not at fault for this. Bushy made her do it. She was brainwashed just as my Mom was.


Don't judge too quickly. There will be a lot coming out on this. Bushey is a cult leader and he took advantage of a naieve woman. I do know more about this than most and I know that she and her children were coerced into things because of fear and orders from Bushey. There are a lot of cults that most of us don't pay any attention to and our children and our friends children can easily become involved in because of awful circumstances in their lives. This is not something that Tammy wanted to do and she would not have done it on her own - ever! She is not a monster or a "Whack Job". She needs help as does anyone involved in a cult.

[satchelmcqueen]

weird stuff. and why the toilet?

[asimplegirl]

said the lady was pulling the old lady's panties up, when she appeared to faint. So she sat her there on the toilet. I am guessing she had been using the bathroom prior to "fainting".

After she sat her there, she called the leader of the church, to tell him to pray for her, and he said to sit her there, close the door, leave her alone and pray for her...that the devil was trying to make it appear that she had died, but that she would come back to life...