Oakland County Man Lives With Dead Roommate For About A Month: Police

INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, MI — An Independence Township man was arrested Tuesday after authorities said he lived with his dead roommate for a month. Officers said they found the dead body in the bathtub of the home's bathroom during a welfare check.

Mark Alan Means, 58, was charged with a misdemeanor for failure to report a deceased person. He was sent before 52-2nd District Court Judge Joseph Fabrizio and placed in the Oakland County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond. He could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

As a condition of bond, the judge said Means will not be allowed to live in the home on the 7800 block of Caberfae Trail in Independence Township. Officials said he will be allowed to return to the home one time with deputies to gather his personal belongings.

When officers entered the home Tuesday at 2 a.m, Means told officers his roommate since 2015, Michael Leroy Wagner, 76, was sleeping, and he didn't want to wake him, officials said.

Officers ultimately found Wagner’s body in the bathtub, and believe he fell on March 7 and died on March 10, officials said.

Means did not tell officers why he refused to tell officials about Wagner's death, but said he realized it was about time to report it to authorities, officials said.

Officials said an autopsy determined Wagner had underlying medical conditions and died of natural causes. There were no signs of foul play, officials said.