2 women allegedly drove dead man to bank in ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’-style plot to withdraw his money
Two Ohio women allegedly propped up a dead man in their car to withdraw hundreds of dollars from his bank account — before dropping the corpse off at a hospital.
Loreen Bea Feralo, 55, and Karen Casbohm, 63, were accused of driving the body of Douglas Layman, 80, to a bank drive-thru window in Ashtabula on Monday, according to the Star Beacon.
The women, who were not related to Layman but lived with him in the city about 50 miles from Cleveland, removed the body from his home with the help of a third person, the Smoking Gun reported.
They propped him up in the passenger seat “so that the teller could see him. … They tried to withdraw money from his account,” Police Chief Robert Stell told the Star Beacon.
“The bank had allowed this previously as long as they were accompanied by him,” he said.
After withdrawing about $900, the women drove Layman to Ashtabula County Medical Center, where they dropped off his corpse without identifying him or themselves, Stell and prosecuting attorney Cecilia Cooper said.
Police eventually located Casbohm and Feralo, who identified Douglas and said he had died at his Ashtabula home, officials said.
The two women, who have lengthy rap sheets, were charged with theft and gross abuse of a corpse, both felonies.
Feralo has been convicted of reckless assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal trespass, driving under the influence, theft and attempted possession of drugs, according to the Smoking Gun.
Casbohm has been convicted of theft, soliciting, criminal trespass, receiving stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and attempted drug abuse, according to the outlet.
Layman’s cause of death was not yet known and the bizarre incident remains under investigation.
The incident bore similarities to the 1989 dark comedy “Weekend at Bernie’s,” in which two idiots try to pretend that their slain employer in the Hamptons is still alive so they will not be suspected of killing him.
