A Bensalem police SUV. File photo.
A Levittown man has been charged after police reportedly discovered the “skeleton-like” remains of his 70-year-old mother inside the home the two shared.
Derrick Bouffard, 37, was charged this month with abuse of a corpse after an investigation by the Bensalem Township Police Department. He was charged via summons.
The discovery happened last October when Bensalem Township Public Works Department employees requested a police standby while performing work at a property.
According to police, officers knocked on the door of a home in the 5000 block of Hunter Court and received no initial response.
As they began to walk away, Bouffard opened the door, police said.
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“I was just about to call you guys. My mom stopped breathing this morning,” Bouffard allegedly told the officers.
Inside the home, officers found 70-year-old Cynthia Bouffard deceased on a mattress in the living room.
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Police said the woman, who was raised in Bristol Township, appeared to have been dead longer than a few hours.
An autopsy found Cynthia Bouffard had been dead for at least a week before her remains were found, police said.
According to investigators, the home Derrick and Cynthia Bouffard shared was dirty, with insects covering the body and a strong smell in the air.
Police wrote in court papers that they found fans throughout the house and baking soda.
In the kitchen, police said the refrigerator had few items in it, including a bag from a delivery service. The freezer was filled with spoiled food.
Cynthia Bouffard was suffering from dementia and was unable to walk, eat solid food, or speak, her brother reportedly told investigators.
Derrick Bouffard was his mother’s caretaker, police said.
In court papers filed this month, investigators stated Derrick Bouffard had searched on Google for questions relating to when to report the death of a person.
While in custody on an old case after his mother’s death, Derrick Bouffard allegedly told a family member he knew his mother had been dead for several days.
Detectives found meal delivery records that showed him ordering food every day for months leading up to his mother being found and that he retrieved deliveries from the front porch of the home past her body.
According to her obituary, Cynthia Bouffard was a longtime nurse at Capital Health and a “fierce independent” woman who loved dogs, plants, and traveling to Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
The 70-year-old woman is survived by her son, a daughter, several grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
The Bucks County Courier Times first reported on the case Monday.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.