Man arrested after body found in duffel bag in storage unit

KINGMAN, Ariz. — A Kingman man is accused of killing a woman last year, hiding her body in a duffel bag in a storage unit and then driving her car and making withdrawals from her bank account in recent months, police said Saturday.

Brett Daniel Puett, 35, was arrested Friday and booked into jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, abandonment and concealment of a dead body and fraud in the death of Debra Lynn Childers, 64, Police Chief Rusty Cooper said in a statement.

Childers’ son reported her missing in May. But it’s believed Childers was killed last September while she and Puett shared a room at a motel, according to the statement, which also said: ”It is believed that their relationship was platonic.”

Childers reportedly had been living primarily out of her car, the statement said.

After the son reported his mother missing, a Mohave County Sheriff’s Office investigation determined that a man had been withdrawing money from Childers’ account and police then learned that the man was driving her vehicle. “There was immediate concern for Childers’ welfare,” according to the statement.

Kingman police located two storage units used by Childers, obtained search warrants and found a body believed to be hers, the statement said.

Online court records didn’t list an attorney for Puett who could comment on his behalf.

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