A Colorado man has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to tampering with a deceased body and identity theft. James David Agnew kept the remains of his partner, James O'Neill, in their Lakewood apartment for about 18 months to continue receiving O'Neill's Social Security payments. The case came to light following a family welfare check in 2025.
James David Agnew, 56, pleaded guilty late last week in Jefferson County court to one count each of tampering with a deceased human body and identity theft. The court sentenced him to five years in state prison on each count, to be served concurrently, with credit for 276 days in pretrial detention. This leaves him with just over four years to serve, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime and statements from a Colorado Judicial Branch spokesperson. Prosecutors dropped five additional felony charges, including abuse of a corpse, theft, and unauthorized use of a financial device, as part of the plea deal. Agnew and his wife, Suzanne Ruth Agnew, 58, had been arrested in July 2025 on related charges stemming from the treatment of 62-year-old James O'Neill's body from late 2023 through mid-2025. The couple allegedly used $17,406 of O'Neill's Social Security money during that period. Suzanne Agnew admitted during questioning that the three had lived together in a three-way intimate relationship. She said O'Neill died in December 2023, likely from a medical condition or drug use, and they did not report it. After their chihuahuas began chewing on the body about a week later, she covered it with a deflated air mattress. Agnew admitted using O'Neill's debit card, which surveillance footage from a local 7-Eleven confirmed. The discovery began in June 2025 when O'Neill's brother requested a welfare check at their South Ammons Street apartment in Lakewood, west of Denver. Police initially spoke to Agnew, who posed as O'Neill, but the brother identified him otherwise. Further investigation, including a conversation about an inheritance deposit, led to the arrests. Suzanne Agnew has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a pretrial conference on May 26.