Arkansas woman accused of hiding boyfriend's body in home pleads innocent

PARAGOULD -- A woman charged with abusing a corpse and fraud after police said she hid her boyfriend's body in her home for a year to collect his Social Security benefits pleaded innocent Monday in Greene County Circuit Court.

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Gloria Marie Tensley, 65, of Paragould remained in the Greene County jail in Paragould in lieu of a $50,000 bond, said her public defender, Caroline Wilson of Paragould.

Circuit Judge Pamela Honeycutt set Tensley's next court date for Nov. 4, Wilson said.

Police said Tensley hid the remains of her boyfriend, Clarence Shanowat, 78, in a bedroom of her home at 122 N. Fourth Ave. in Paragould after he died in April of 2015. An autopsy revealed that Shanowat died of an illness, and there was no foul play involved in his death, according to reports.

Tensley told neighbors that Shanowat was an American Indian and was buried at a reservation in the Dakotas, police said.

Allen Trabaugh, 36, who had been renting a room from Tensley for three months, noticed a "strange smell" coming from the bedroom. When Trabaugh moved into the house, Tensley had told him never to go into that bedroom.

On July 19, Trabaugh entered the bedroom and discovered skeletal remains on the floor, police said. The head was covered with a blanket, and lye was sprinkled on the body, police said.

State Desk on 08/31/2016

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GREENE COUNTY JAIL

Gloria Tensley

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