For Four Years, A Man In California Lived With His Dead Roommate — And Cashed His Checks
Chico Police Department/Twitter/CanvaDarren Pirtle frequently made excuses for his roommate’s absence — but Kevin Olson’s body was just down the hall the whole time.
It had been years since Kevin Olson’s family had heard from him. Even stranger, whenever the retired U.S. Navy sailor’s loved ones tried to reach him, his roommate, Darren Pirtle, always made excuses for Olson’s absence.
Finally, in August, the Chico Police Department began a missing persons investigation and showed up at the home shared by Pirtle and Olson. Pirtle once again made excuses for his roommate’s absence and told the police that he was out of town.
In truth, Olson was only a few yards away, investigators soon discovered. His body was still lying on the floor of a back bedroom — and looked like it had been there since at least 2018.
Yet despite Olson’s death, records showed that his retirement funds had regularly been moved from his Navy Federal Credit Union account to Pirtle’s bank account since the summer of 2019. And somehow, the dead man was paying his mortgage.
Something was obviously wrong with the situation, and investigators quickly charged Pirtle with identity theft and forgery. In all, around 50 of Olson’s checks were transferred to Pirtle’s bank account.
They did not, however, suspect any foul play in Olson’s death — although the question remains as to why Pirtle would choose to share a living space with a dead body that had been decomposing for four years.
