Abandoned Body Finally Laid to Rest
By MATT VECCHIO
19 August 2009
Jasper “Jack” Watkins spent the first seven years of his afterlife nameless–his remains found stuffed in a trunk and left near a trash can along Route 340 in Loudoun County in May 1996.
For years, investigators had no leads to establish his identity. Meanwhile, Nancy Jean Siegel, of Baltimore, Md. was profiting – collecting Watkins’ social security checks and retirement benefits.
Siegel met Watkins, a widower 30 years her senior, in 1994 when she sold him a mausoleum and burial services. They shared a romantic relationship at the time of his death, and according to witness testimony, became inseparable.
According to federal prosecutors, Siegel murdered Watkins–76 years old at the time of his death– then stuffed his body in a trunk and drove to Virginia, where it was dumped along a rural roadway. Concealing Watkins’ death, Siegel continued to collect his pensions for seven years.
Siegel also sold Watkins’ home, pawned several other assets, and continued to use his identity information for various types of fraud--including making purchase and opening and closing accounts.
Another investigation began, and Siegel was apprehended in August 2003. In April 2009, Siegel was sentenced to 33 years in prison for murder and fraud.
The Elderly as Victims
What explains Siegel's actions? Perhaps she was looking for easy money–seducing Watkins, who she knew had no immediate family to contact authorities–and taking over his social security and other income payments. Perhaps she really was romantically interested in Watkins, but saw an opportunity to profit for herself.
Either way, violence against the elderly is not a new unique event – but rather an unacknowledged epidemic in many areas.
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