Story Archive

Nut Ball, Defined

Robert James Kuefler, 60, of White Bear, Minn., sent Christmas cards to relatives reporting his brother and mother were in “bad health” and didn’t want visitors or phone calls. A concerned neighbor noticed she hadn’t seen the two in awhile, and called police to do a welfare check; officers found two dead bodies. Kuefler told them his brother had been dead for about 16 months, and his mother had been dead for about 13 months. Police said the man’s body was “mummified,” and the woman’s “decayed and skeletal.” Their deaths were ruled natural, but Kuefler was charged with interference with a dead body or scene of death. “I am not some nut ball,” Kuefler declares, adding he doesn’t need any counseling. He didn’t report the two deaths because “I was traumatized,” and asked a reporter, “What would you do?” (RC/AP) ...Easy: report their deaths.