Canton Township Couple’s Case Has Been Closed

The case involving a Canton Township couple who lived for several months with the corpse of a relative has come to a close. James Bebout pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of abuse of a corpse. A felony theft charge was dropped by prosecutors. Michael Bebout died while under the care of Bebout and his wife Debbie in August of 2024. Debbie pretended to care for the deceased Michael and continued to cash his social security checks for several months after his death. She pleaded guilty to theft and abuse of a corpse charges in February. She served 55 days in jail and is serving nearly 2 years of probation and paying nearly $6000 in restitution. James Bebout was sentenced to 12 months probation for his guilty plea. Bebout claimed that he was unaware of his brother’s death until he called 9-1-1 back in January of 2025.