Woman admits leaving body of missing man in apartment

DAYTON — A West Carrollton woman pleaded guilty Wednesday in connection to the death of a missing Dayton man whose body was found earlier this year inside her apartment.

>> RELATED: Missing man’s body found in apartment — months later, woman charged

Christine Michael, 52, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse, according to court records. Charges of abuse of a corpse and failure to report knowledge of a death charge were dismissed.

Police found Jerry Truett’s body on Feb. 26 inside Michael’s Cherokee Drive apartment following a 911 call about a possible death.

>> RELATED: Missing man found dead in West Carrollton apartment, 2 arrested at same apartment

“You can smell it out in the apartment building,” the 911 caller said. “The door is shut and there’s a towel on the bottom of it ... they are trying to cover up the smell.”

The county coroner’s office determined Truett had been dead for three to four months before he was found, the prosecutor’s office said.

>> RELATED: Questions remain surrounding missing Dayton man found dead in West Carrollton

A Missing Endangered Adult Alert was issued for Truett in December.

He died from an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol intoxication, coroner’s office records show.