Man kept bodies of mother, brother in home for a year, authorities say

The scene for White Bear Lake cops was a grisly one.

A man who lived with the dead bodies of his mother and twin brother for a year says he couldn't bring himself to bury them. Evelyn Kueffler, 93, died in August 2015, more than a year before she was found, while Richard Kuefler died in July 2015. When officers entered the home, they found a second dead person downstairs.

Over the course of that year, he told people that his mother and brother couldn't hear the phone when it rang, in an attempt to explain why they didn't answer the phone.

But he couldn't bring himself to bury them, so he kept them in the house.

The two were identified as 92-year-old Evelyn Lucille Kuefler, Robert Kuefler's mother, and 58-year-old Richard John Kuefler, Robert Kuefler's brother.

At one point, he moved his brother's body into the bathroom because it was "in the way", the Pioneer-Press reported.

Autopsies showed that both of Kuefler's family members died of natural causes.

"A criminal complaint against Kuefler was filed in Ramsey County District Court this week charging him with" interference with a dead body or scene of death". Kuefler was charged this week.

Kuefler said he knew his mother was dying, but "didn't want to be around when she died, so he left the house to drive around a couple of hours".

These bodies were found a year ago, but Kuefler was charged this week.