Mo. man sentenced for concealing father's death

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A northeast Missouri man has been sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement for burning his father's body to hide his death, allowing the family to continue to cash the dead man's Social Security disability checks for nine more years.

Kris McWilliams, 36, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. He was also ordered to pay $133,000 in restitution.

His mother, Betty Joanne McWilliams, 59, and sister Kimberly Ferguson, 39, have pleaded guilty to the same theft of government funds charges. They will be sentenced March 22. All three were indicted by a federal grand jury in October.

Larry McWilliams died of natural causes on Jan. 13, 1997, at the family home near Lewistown in Lewis County.

U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said the family then moved McWilliams' body behind the home and burned it to hide any evidence that he had died. Hanaway said the family ate dinner while the body burned.

Betty McWilliams tended the fire to make sure no bones were left unburned, according to Hanaway. All three knew that Larry McWilliams' Social Security benefits would stop if his death was reported.