Forcing kids to live with decomposing body lands FL man in jail

A man who lived for weeks with a decomposing human corpse has been sentenced to five years in prison. He and his girlfriend had allegedly been collecting the victim’s benefits and social security.

Police found the body of Tiffany Kain, 33, on Halloween in 2013 after a well-being check in Todd LaDuke’s house, where it had been kept for around three weeks. Kain had suffered from spina bifida and multiple sclerosis, according to Wfmynews2.com.

LaDuke, 39, from Volusia County, did not deny the charges. He was also charged on two cases of child neglect: he shared the house with his girlfriend and three children.

The pair and the kids – one of them as young as six – were living just across the hall from the decaying body.

The house was a complete mess, with unsanitary conditions, garbage everywhere, even animal feces, the court found, saying this amounted to “deplorable conditions.”

LaDuke was sentenced to five years in state prison, followed by five years on probation, the State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s Seventh Judicial court told local media.

His girlfriend, Nicole Scalise, was sentenced to a three-year jail term earlier this year. The Department of Children and Families has taken custody of the children.