Lakewood Couple Charged After Failing to Report Man’s Death for Over a Year
Two people are facing serious charges after police say they concealed the death of a man with whom they were in a relationship, collecting thousands of dollars in social security benefits during the cover-up.
According to a Lakewood police affidavit, James and Suzanne Agnew were charged in connection with the December 2023 death of James “Jim” O’Neill. The couple allegedly hid O’Neill’s body inside their residence for over a year, during which they withdrew more than $17,000 in benefits from his account.
Investigators say O’Neill had previously called Jeffcom dispatch in early December 2023, expressing fear that his roommate might harm him. Weeks later, Suzanne told police she awoke to find O’Neill dead in their shared home. Rather than report his death, she admitted they covered his body with an air mattress after some of her eight chihuahuas began chewing on him. Suzanne claimed she wasn’t ready to “give up” Jim, while James acknowledged O’Neill’s benefits “were definitely a consideration” in delaying the report.
When O’Neill’s family requested a welfare check in June 2025, James initially posed as O’Neill to mislead officers. Further investigation, including ATM surveillance footage, linked James to transactions using O’Neill’s debit card months after his death.
The couple now faces charges of tampering with a deceased human body, abuse of a corpse, theft, and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device. Suzanne told detectives the three had lived together in what she described as an “intimate” relationship, but that James Agnew had grown increasingly erratic. James later suggested drug use may have contributed to O’Neill’s death, though no official cause has been determined.
Court records show Suzanne Agnew has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 27, while James Agnew is set for arraignment on Sept. 2 and Sept. 29.
