Background: The Sangamon County court building in Springfield, Ill. (Google Maps). Inset (left): Gena English-Wheat (Sangamon County Sheriff's Office). Inset (right): Lillie Prindle (Staab Funeral Homes).
An Illinois woman who cared for her elderly neighbor allegedly kept the older woman's death a secret for three years, police said.
Gena English-Wheat, 59, was charged with concealment of a death in February after police said they found the body of 86-year-old Lillie Prindle covered in blankets in her home. According to a probable cause statement obtained by local CBS affiliate WCIA, English-Wheat was Prindle's caregiver and her next-door neighbor. When members of Prindle's family were unable to contact her in November 2025, they called for a welfare check.
Officers from the Springfield Police Department went to Prindle's home on Nov. 6, 2025, and found her body sitting in a chair in the living room, covered with blankets.
Police spoke to other neighbors who knew Prindle and English-Wheat, and they reportedly said they had not seen the older woman for a long time. It had been months since they saw English-Wheat going over to Prindle's house. One person who saw English-Wheat at a grocery store weeks before the grisly discovery said English-Wheat told her Prindle was staying with her niece.
When police found Prindle's body, they described it as "mummified" and surrounded by insect husks. Local NBC affiliate WAND reported that the coroner described the state of the body as being in an "advanced state of decomposition."
Police believed that Prindle had been dead for at least a year. As they investigated her home, they found evidence that things had not changed in the home since 2022, including expired food and a calendar that had not been changed since that year.
According to the probable cause statement, police soon discovered that several of Prindle's accounts were still active. Prindle was receiving Social Security and her state pension every month, with deposits going into her bank account every month. Police said they also noticed several withdrawals being made from those accounts from the same ATM.
When police obtained video surveillance of the ATM, they reportedly observed English-Wheat making four withdrawals during October 2025. She allegedly used the same card that had been used to pay Prindle's utility bills.
Police brought English-Wheat in for questioning and advised her of her rights. She allegedly admitted to finding Prindle dead in her living room chair in August 2022, but "did not tell anyone because she did not want anyone to know." English-Wheat told police that she paid Prindle's utility bills, maintained her lawn, and made ATM withdrawals to make them appear "active."
WAND reported that English-Wheat allegedly took $130,000 from Prindle's account. She has not been charged in connection with the alleged theft.
English-Wheat was charged with concealment of a death and arrested on Feb. 22. She was eventually granted pretrial release from the Sangamon County Jail. Local ABC affiliate WICS reported that English-Wheat failed to show up for court appearances multiple times, including her most recent appearance on Monday. A warrant has been issued for her arrest. Her next scheduled court date has not been announced.
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