A Northern California man lived with the body of his dead roommate for four years and steals his money by writing checks on his account.
Darren Pirtle, 57, was charged in Butte County Superior Court on Monday with identity theft and forgery.
Pirtle is accused of forging checks to himself from the credit union account of 64-year-old Kevin Olson. Olson hasn’t been seen since October 2018.
According to the DA’s office, a missing-person investigation started when a relative reported that he hadn’t seen or heard from Olson in about four years.
Relative says they tried to contact Olson over the year and spoke to Pirtle, who has different excuses for his absence.
Olson’s body was found last week on the floor of a back bedroom of his home.
The DA’s office said that a police officer contacted Pirtle and was told Olson was out of town.
According to prosecutors, Olson was retired from the US Navy and his monthly retirement checks were sent directly into his Navy Federal Credit Union account.
Since July 2019, Pirtle had allegedly forged around 50 checks on the account.
Authorities believe the Olson died in late 2018. An autopsy will be held to determine the cause of his death.
