Son hid dad’s body, then burned it in a fire pit, Tennessee sheriff says

An East Tennessee man is accused of abusing a corpse after pieces of his dead father were found in a fire pit, investigators say.

Richard Keith Wilder of Whitwell was arrested at his home Aug. 14, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in an Aug. 15 news release.

Investigators have not released a motive, or a cause of death for Wilder’s father.

“During the investigation, Marion County detectives developed information that Wilder had hidden and burned his deceased father’s body at a location in Mullins Cove,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Detectives along with DA investigators went to the location. ... The remains were collected from a fire pit and sent to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Nashville for identification.”

Mullins Cove is a rural two-lane road just west of Chattanooga. It parallels the banks of the Tennessee River, including Nickajack Lake, maps show.

Wilder’s home in Whitwell is about a 20-mile drive north from Mullins Cove.

The charge of abusing a corpse is a felony, Justia reports.

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