Man straps dead wife's body into passenger seat and 'takes her on road trip'

Rodney Puckett tells officers he dragged her body into their car before carrying on with journey

Rodney Puckett was caught driving along a motorway with his wife's body strapped into his passenger seat (ABC 15)

A pensioner has been arrested after he was caught driving along a motorway with his wife’s dead body in the passenger seat.

Seventy-year-old Rodney Puckett told officers in the Arizona city of Eloy that his wife Linda, 74, had died at a hotel in Texas - at least 800 miles away.

He told officers that he dragged her body to their car before continuing the journey towards their destination.

Eloy Police Department said it was investigating whether Ms Puckett was murdered.

The force said her husband was driving on Interstate 10 when he was stopped by traffic officer Adam Edmonds earlier this week.

“While speaking with Rodney, Detective Edmonds observed a deserved female sitting in the passenger seat,” it said in a statement. “Rodney told detectives Linda died at a hotel in Texas during their trip. He moved her body into their vehicle, continuing towards their destination.”

It did not say where Mr Puckett said he had been heading when he was stopped.

Ms Puckett’s body was turned over to Pinal County coroners for a post-mortem examination to establish a cause of death.

Investigators said they were working with Texas law enforcement to determine if she was murdered.

Mr Puckett, from Oklahoma, was charged with abandonment or concealment of a body and taken to Pinal County prison. He could face further charges at a later date.

“The investigation is in the early stages and we will be releasing more information as it comes available,” Eloy police said.

In April, a Canadian family drove home from Florida with a father’s dead body in their car after he died while they were on holiday.

Fernand Drapeau’s son and wife were stopped at the US-Canada border as they tried to enter Quebec with his corpse in the back seat.

They said they wanted to avoid paying US healthcare and repatriation fees. They were not arrested.