After extinguishing a massive fire at a Fort Atkinson home on June 11, firefighters discovered a human body that appeared to be already decaying.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice said that 36-year-old Elizabeth M. Durkee was the person who set the residence on fire with the corpse of her slain grandmother inside.
During questioning, Durkee told detectives that she had killed the 72-year-old woman on her request as she was ill and wanted to die to join her loved ones.
Durkee added that she helped the woman into bed, and suffocated her with duct tape after telling her that she loved her.
The victim’s body was left there for at least four days before Durkee started the fire. She claimed that her initial plan was to remain inside the home with her toddler daughter.
Durkee was charged with intentional homicide, strangulation and suffocation, arson, and mutilating a corpse.
