John Weaver
BREWERTON, N.Y. – A staggering discovery was made in a Brewerton apartment Monday night. Police search the building for a missing woman, but found a body stuffed in a closet instead.
According to Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh, it all started after a fight on Friday evening. John Weaver became angry and allegedly stabbed his wife to death. Wheelchair bound, Weaver managed to get his wife's body into a closet in a spare bedroom.
For three days her body stayed in that closet. Until Syracuse detectives came looking for her.
The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office is still on scene at Bayshore Apartments in Brewerton where deputies are investigating a homicide. Police say John Weaver, 45, murdered his estranged wife. Her body was found in his apartment. News 10 Now's Joleene Des Rosiers reports.
Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick told reporters in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, "Probably what tipped the officers off more than anything was the odor. And the Sheriff and I were just talking about that, how we think that they wouldn't find it, and the Sheriff is exactly correct that he had the body really well, well, hidden. For whatever reason, he may not have been able to detect the odor, but the officers certainly knew it."
Police cite a track record of domestic violence and neighbors confirm it. An order of protection was in place against Weaver, but it didn't keep his wife from coming to the apartment almost every weekend.
"She'd come over quite a number of times on the weekends, ever since he moved in out there," said neighbor James Corely.
Sheriff Kevin Walsh told reporters, "They went to a party Friday night. They got into an argument. He brought her home. They got into a dispute, and he ended up killing her. She was stabbed at least one time. We are waiting for the autopsy to tell us what the actual cause of death was. But we do have at least one puncture wound, possibly more, on the body."
Investigators say Weaver told them the stabbing was an accident. They also said several swords and knives on the walls of the apartment, but the one used to allegedly stab Carol Weaver has not yet been found.
Weaver is being held at the Onondaga County Justice Center without bail.