A 62-year-old man has been charged for disinterring the body of June Stevens in Wyalusing Township in October 2009, said state police at Towanda and Bradford County District Attorney Daniel Barrett's office Wednesday.

In June, it was reported that state police served a search warrant at a private residence, the home of 91-year-old Jean Stevens of Wyalusing, on Old Stagecoach Road in Wyalusing Township, where the mummified remains of two human beings - one of them being June Stevens - were discovered.

Two case workers with the Area Agency on Aging had told the state police that Jean Stevens had two bodies in her home, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The case workers said that one of the bodies was Stevens' late husband, Jimmy Stevens, and the other was Jean Stevens' sister, June, according to the affidavit.

The District Attorney's office reported Wednesday that state police filed charges against James Flanagan of RD4 Wyalusing for disinterring the body of June Stevens. The body was seized by state police and the coroner in June and remains in the custody of the coroner, the news release from the District Attorney's office said.

It continued by noting that Flanagan was charged under the Health Code for disinterring a body without a permit. He was also charged with abuse of corpse under the Crimes Code section that prohibits treating a corpse in a manner that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities, it said.

Flanagan was a friend and neighbor of Jean Stevens, the news release noted.

Flanagan will need to appear before Magisterial District Judge Fred Wheaton in Wysox for arraignment after he is served with the summons, the District Attorney's office said.

It noted that the Health Code violation is a summary offense and the Crimes Code violation is a misdemeanor of the second degree. In their report, state police listed the charges filed against Flanagan as Abuse of Corpse (second degree misdemeanor) and Disinterment of Dead Human Bodies (summary offense).

No one has been charged with the disinterment of James Stevens since the disinterment occurred about 10 years ago and the statue of limitations has expired, according to the District Attorney's office.

The news release also noted that the affidavit supporting the charges against Flanagan does not mention any participants other than Jean Stevens. The remainder of the case remains under review and the District Attorney cannot provide further information, the news release said.

Earlier, The Associated Press reported that Jean Stevens has indicated through her attorney that she plans to build an aboveground vault on her property to store the bodies of James Stevens and June Stevens, according to Barrett. Stevens was told that she would be allowed to keep the bodies if she installed a mausoleum or crypt, the Associated Press reported.

Stevens previously told The Associated Press that she kept the embalmed remains of her loved ones because she wanted to be able to see them and talk to them. She also said she's claustrophobic and couldn't stand the thought of their bodies in caskets in the ground.

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: .