She hid a body in a trash can, and Manatee cops say she cashed the disability checks

A Bradenton woman who admitted to hiding a dead man’s body in a trash can so she could steal his disability checks faces more charges in the bizarre case.

Michelle Haney, 48, was arrested in December on a charge of abusing a dead human body., after neighbor of Jon Christopher Leonard, 40, in the Windmill Manor mobile home park found Leonard’s body. On Thursday, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office announced Haney also is now charged with criminal use of personal identification of a deceased individual and scheme to defraud.

Haney was still in custody at the Manatee County jail on the original charge when the additional charges were added.

Detectives say Haney spent more than $6,300 of Leonard’s disability money that should have terminated when he died.

Haney and Leonard were roommates, and deputies say Leonard died sometime in July. Haney had asked the neighbor to watch the garbage can and that it contained personal belongings, according to the sheriff’s office.

After months of not hearing from Haney, the neighbor opened the tightly sealed container to make the gruesome discovery, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office has not released the cause of death, but Haney is not suspected in the Leonard’s death, a spokesman said.

This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 10:39 AM.