Robert Brown|Vegas man killed roommate and lived with her corpse for "extended period of time," police say

A man has been arrested and Robert Browncharged with murder in connection with the death of a woman, whose body the suspect seemingly kept inside their shared residence "for an extended period of time," Las Vegas police said.

Police have identified the suspect as 31-year-old George Anthony Bone, who is listed in Nevada's sex offender registry and who was arrested about a decade ago on charges of sexual assault and lewdness with a child, court records show. In addition to open murder, Bone was charged following his arrest on Wednesday with failing to register as a sex offender, as his name appears in Nevada's registry alongside a different address than the one where he allegedly lived with the deceased roommate, CBS affiliate KLAS reported.

Officers responded to the residence just before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, after receiving a report that a woman had been found dead inside, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release. The victim "appeared to have been deceased for an extended period of time," the department said, noting "the suspicious nature of the death." 

Although the manner and cause of death will be determined by the Clark County Coroner's Office, detectives with the Las Vegas police department have characterized the death as a homicide and identified Bone as the suspect. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and is being held without bail, KLAS reported.

The victim was reportedly identified as Beverly Ma, a friend of Bone's since high school who had moved in with him last summer, according to KLAS. She may have died some time in May, Bone told police. After her death, the suspect allegedly kept the corpse in a closet at their residence, and told police that he placed a cooler near the door so that he would be alerted if Ma rose from the dead, KLAS reported, citing court documents and Las Vegas police.

"Bone went about living at the house with Beverly deceased in the upstairs closet for the next two months and began ordering several items on Beverly's Amazon account using her funds for his own gain," police said, according to KLAS. "When asked why he didn't call for help, Bone's response was 'I was afraid of going back to jail… for being found with a dead body.'"

In a jaillhouse interview with KLAS, Bone said that he "made so many bad decisions."

"I'm not trying to say my actions were right," Bone said, speaking from the Clark County Detention Center. "I'm not trying to say my actions were logical."

CBS News contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County Coroner's Office for more information but did not receive immediate replies.

Las Vegas police have asked anyone with information about the incident to report what they know to the department's homicide section by calling 702-828-3521 or emailing [email protected]. Tips can also be reported anonymously, over the phone and by email, by contacting Crime Stoppers.

In:
• Homicide
• Nevada
• Las Vegas