Lady Cuts Pacemaker Out of Boyfriend's Chest, Insists She Didn't Kill Him

Christy Lee Zarrella, 63, of Long Beach, Mississippi is facing charges of tampering with evidence, failure to report a death and desecration of a corpse for cutting a pacemaker out of her dead boyfriend's chest before putting his body in a trash can.

Investigators went to the home Oct. 22 looking for Miller but said no one answered the door. They found his remains when they noticed an odor coming from a trash can. Beeman said the trash can was partially melted and had burn marks. Several empty bleach bottles were found inside it, indicating an attempt to mask the smell of decay. Police confronted Zarrella after she came home later that day. She spontaneously told them, "I didn't kill him," Beeman said. In interviews at the police station, she reportedly said Miller had died Oct. 5 of natural causes. She said she panicked and put his body in a large, wheeled trash can and rolled it outside, Beeman said. Two investigators attended Miller's autopsy in Jackson. The state medical examiner told them wire clippers or a similar tool had been used to cut the wires off his heart device, Beeman said. The affidavit did not say how Miller died or what could have been used to cut the device out of his chest. The cause and manner of his death remain under investigation, Harrison County coroner Gary Hargrove said Wednesday. The day of the discovery, those collecting evidence were seen gathering items including a hand drill. Police had also arrested Zarrella on a misdemeanor charge of failing to report a death.

source: Sun Herald

Police say after Christy desecrated the man's body and placed it in the trash, she tried to set fire to the trash can and sold the dead man's belongings at an estate sale.