A 37-year-old man in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, faces abuse of a corpse charges after his mother's body decomposed for nearly two weeks in their home. Police were alerted by a neighbor complaining of a foul odor on October 25, 2025. Authorities determined the 70-year-old woman died of medical causes.
On October 25, 2025, Bensalem Police Department officers responded to a home on the 5000 block of South Hunters Court following a neighbor's report of a foul smell. Derrick Bouffard, 37, greeted them at the door, stating, 'I was just about to call you guys, my mom stopped breathing this morning.' Inside, they found the body of his mother, Cynthia Bouffard, 70, on a mattress in the living room. She appeared emaciated, weighing 60 pounds, and had been deceased for nearly two weeks, showing signs of decomposition, according to police and local reports from WPVI, an ABC affiliate. Derrick Bouffard reportedly ordered food to the home one to three times daily during that period and walked past the living room to reach the front door. Initially treated as a suspicious death pending autopsy results, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office later stated that the medical examiner determined Cynthia Bouffard died from medical causes. Derrick Bouffard was charged with abuse of a corpse on March 6, 2026, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 8. Cynthia Bouffard's daughter, Carrie Acevedo, expressed mixed feelings, saying she felt 'super conflicted' because 'I know my mom loves my brother very much. I don't want to feel hate for my brother.' She added, 'It feels like a movie... It doesn't feel like it's real life. I feel regret for not being there, for not doing more.' Her mother, a former nurse of over three decades, was described in her obituary as 'fiercely independent' and 'strong-willed.'