Gennice Walker is accused of living off her father’s Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits. After a search of his home in Pahrump, Nevada, her father, Bruce Brown, 95, was found dead in a homemade coffin. (Nye County Sheriff’s Office)
Police in Nevada investigating a 95-year-old man’s disappearance made a startling discovery while searching his backyard.
After excavating a small portion of the yard, investigators found the man, Bruce Brown, buried in a homemade coffin, according to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation began in April when detectives learned Brown had not been heard from or seen. Investigators later discovered that Brown’s daughter, Gennice Walker, had allegedly been living off his Social Security and VA benefits, the sheriff’s office said in a press release. They also received information that she had buried him “in the desert,” the press release posted to Facebook Monday said.
Detectives went to Kansas City, Missouri, to interview Walker, but she refused to cooperate, deputies said. She was arrested on a warrant for larceny related to the stolen benefits. She is not yet facing any charges related to her father’s death or burial.
Deputies returned to Nevada where they conducted a search warrant Friday on a home in Pahrump, which is on the border with California and is 60 miles from Las Vegas. That’s when they found Brown’s body. Photos taken at the scene and posted on the Pahrump News Facebook page shows several investigators and an earth mover.
An autopsy positively identified the remains as Brown. The press release did not give a cause or manner of death.
Nye County property records list both Brown and Walker as owners of the home, which is located among a few homes in the desert with mountain ranges in the backdrop not far from Death Valley.
Those who knew Brown commented on the sheriff’s office Facebook post to say he was a kind person.
“Bruce was such a sweetheart,” one woman wrote. “He loved his books and was a great library patron. I wondered if he was doing okay, the answer was no. RIP Bruce.”
Walker is still being held at a Kansas City jail and will be extradited back to Nye County.
Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact the Nye County Sheriff’s Office at 775-751-7000. You can also remain anonymous by calling CRIMESTOPPERS at 702-385-5555.
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