Phoenix man accused of hiding woman’s body in her Gilbert home after alleged overdose

A Phoenix man is being held without bail on accusations he moved a woman’s body to her Gilbert home after an apparent overdose.

Kristopher Lauchner, 52, was barred from contacting the woman in a domestic violence case. Police say he pawned her jewelry and drove her car in the days before she was found.

Lauchner was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of hiding a dead body, burglary and selling stolen property, court records show.

Police said the ankle monitor Lauchner was wearing, issued in this domestic violence case, had stopped working on July 12.

Gilbert police found the woman’s decomposing body in her bed during a welfare check.

According to a probable cause statement, Lauchner told detectives the two used drugs at a Valley hotel together. When he awoke, he found the victim dead. Instead of calling 911, Lauchner allegedly buckled the body into her car, drove it to her Gilbert home and placed her in bed. At one point, he left to meet with his pretrial officer before pawning her jewelry.

Lauchner is scheduled to appear in a preliminary hearing on Aug. 20.

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