A Pennsylvania woman is set to accept a plea agreement after concealing her deceased brother-in-law’s body for several months to continue collecting his Social Security payments. Debbie Bebout, 64, will plead guilty to a charge of felony theft under a “fast track” arrangement.

The Herald-Standard reported that both Debbie and her husband, 68-year-old James Bebout, participated in a remote preliminary hearing on December 26. They face charges of theft, criminal conspiracy, and corpse abuse. Previously, James Bebout informed authorities that he discovered his brother, Michael Bebout, 64, deceased on January 16 when he attempted to bring him breakfast.

Upon arrival, police were greeted by mere skeletal remains, indicating that Michael Bebout had been deceased for several months. During the December 26 hearing, Corporal Adrian Poux of the Greene-Washington Regional Police described the scene at the Bebouts’ Canton Township residence. He noted the home was permeated with an overpowering stench, describing it as an “olfactory deluge.”

Greene Washington Regional Police Chief Will DeForte characterized the home as being in “atrocious and horrific” condition, noting the presence of dog feces throughout. He compared the scene to a hoarder’s dwelling, pointing out the difficulty in moving through the cluttered space and the intolerable odor.

Corporal Poux described the setting as a “horror show,” with officers initially expecting to find a body that had been deceased for just one to two days. An autopsy later revealed that Michael Bebout had likely passed away in August 2024. Authorities have ruled out foul play concerning his death.

Poux testified that the home looked like a “horror show,” and he and his colleagues were expecting “a body that was 24 to 48 hours old.” An autopsy determined that Michael Bebout likely died sometime in August 2024. Authorities did not suspect foul play in his death.

James Bebout told police that Debbie Bebout was acting as his brother’s primary caregiver. On the morning of Jan. 16, Debbie Bebout was in jail on a bench warrant, so James Bebout took on the role. When he found his brother that morning, he told police he was “stiff as a board.”

During his testimony, Poux said he told James Bebout, “there was no way he didn’t know what was going on,” adding, “He was dazed.”

Further investigation revealed that Debbie Bebout had been “pretending to take care of” Michael Bebout for months so she could cash his Social Security checks totaling $6,189. Poux testified that Debbie Bebout never implicated her husband in her scheme. She spent the money on groceries, kerosene to heat the home, and other living expenses.

While Debbie Bebout agreed to plead guilty to a felony count of theft, James Bebout maintained that he had nothing to do with the plan to cash his late brother’s Social Security checks, nor did he realize his brother was dead until he brought him breakfast that January morning. The Herald-Standard reported that he told his public defender, “I can’t agree to something I didn’t do.”

While James Bebout’s public defender noted that his wife did not implicate her husband, Assistant District Attorney Robert West countered that there was no way he did not know there was a dead body decomposing in his two-bedroom home. West cited the “immediate smells” that police described upon entering the house and the fact that Michael Bebout’s body was in a bedroom mere feet from the living room where the living Bebouts slept on couches.

“Inaction is action when it comes to the desecration of a body,” West said. The judge agreed, saying, “Living at the same address as the body negates [the claim] that the defendant wasn’t aware.”

Debbie Bebout is expected to be sentenced to time served. James Bebout is set to go on trial for conspiracy to commit theft and a misdemeanor charge of abuse of a corpse after the judge dismissed one charge of felony theft. He is in custody at the Washington County Jail, where he is being held on $6,000 cash bond. His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2026.