A Colorado couple faces allegations of residing with the deceased body of the third individual in their “intimate” relationship for 18 months, during which they reportedly continued to receive his Social Security benefits.

James Agnew, 55, and Suzanne Agnew, 57, have been charged with tampering with a deceased body, misuse of a financial transaction device, and corpse abuse, as reported by KUSA.

Authorities discovered the remains of James O’Neill, who is believed to have been 62 at the time of his death in late 2023, on July 3. His body was found underneath a deflated air mattress in the Lakewood condominium that the trio shared.

The investigation began in June after O’Neill’s brother requested a welfare check from the police due to not having contact with him for a significant period. The brother mentioned that although O’Neill had been disconnected from the family, it was crucial to reach him to inform him of an inheritance.

Police encountered a man at the residence who identified himself as “James,” and he informed the officers that he was aware of the family’s attempts to reach him but was not interested in maintaining contact.

However, when the officers showed the brother the footage from their body cameras, he confirmed that the man was not his brother. It was later identified to be James Agnew, who had misleadingly presented himself as O’Neill during the interaction with the officers.

Officers returned, this time speaking with Suzanne Agnew, who told them James O’Neill had moved out of the condominium several years earlier after meeting a “foreign woman” online and moving in with her.

The brother then reached out to Suzanne Agnew to tell her about the money O’Neill had inherited, and “she indicated that James O’Neill was sitting right next to her but said he didn’t want to talk.” When told about the inheritance, which needed to be deposited into O’Neill’s bank account, Agnew gave him a checking account number and O’Neill’s social security number.

But when the brother told her that O’Neill would need to appear at the bank in person to sign documents, Agnew stopped talking with him.

Investigators continued to dig into the story and found that Social Security payments were deposited into O’Neill’s bank account every month, and that the money was being spent — apparently by James Agnew, who was seen on surveillance video making purchases using O’Neill’s debit card.

The court documents say detective returned to the condominium armed with a search warrant on July 3 and spoke with Suzanne Agnew.

“She said she understood and immediately told me we woul find James O’Neill’s body in the residence, indicating he was deceased,” the court documents said.

Agnew explained that she and her husband had “been in a three-way relationship” with O’Neill “for many years.” The couple told investigators they awakened one morning in December 2023 and found O’Neill dead. James Agnew said there had “probably” been drug use the night before.

James Agnew further told investigators that having access to O’Neill’s bank account was a “consideration” in deciding not to report the death.

Neither of the Agnews are charged with O’Neill’s death. Suzanne Agnew has a court appearance set for August 27, and James Agnew is due in court on September 2.