OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A man who discovered a roommate had died, apparently of a drug overdose, has been charged with hiding a corpse for allegedly wrapping the roommate’s body in a tarp and leaving it in his basement, instead of calling police.
Erik Averbeck, 44, returns to court Thursday for a preliminary hearing in Winnebago County court. A $20,000 cash bond was set at his initial appearance last Thursday, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint, the female victim, who is not named, was living in the basement at Averbeck’s Fatima Street home in Fox Crossing. Police and probation agents received information the woman may have died of an overdose, and went to the home for a welfare check on Dec. 15. There, the body was found “tightly wrapped and bound,” the complaint says.
Averbeck told police he found the woman, dead, the day before. He had last seen her three days before that, on the 11th.
“The defendant stated he does not know how the decision was made, but they decided to, “wrap up the body, and clean up down there,” and figure out what to do from there. The defendant stated there was no plans as to what they were going to do with the body,” the complaint states.
Preliminary autopsy results showed the woman had fentanyl in her system, according to the complaint.
A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Averbeck as a Menasha resident based on his mailing address. His home is located in Fox Crossing.
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