A Jim Thorpe man who had a body buried in his backyard entered a guilty plea on Monday in Carbon County court to one count of abuse of a corpse.

Peter T. Davis, 66, of 231 South St., appeared before Judge Steven R. Serfass to enter the plea. It was the only charge filed against him.

On Sept. 5, 2021, police responded to Davis’ property for a welfare check of a female, Laura Spencer. The request was made by her son, Daniel.

Davis refused to cooperate with officers, who returned the next day with a search warrant. Police found Spencer’s body buried in the backyard.

Davis and Spencer were married and she was confined to a wheelchair. He told Serfass he had no money to pay for a funeral so he “did what I had to do.”

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed against Davis, he told Spencer’s daughters that she died shortly after her birthday and that “he did what he needed to do” because “he needed the money.”

After police arrived at the home at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 5, they attempted to make contact with Davis, but he did not answer the door.

While at the residence, police received a call from Daniel, informing them his mother was “buried in the backyard under plants.” Davis would not come out of the house, police said, and cursed them, telling them to “go home.”

According to Kohler, Davis made statements such as, “I’m not going anywhere,” and “I can stay here for days.” At one point, Davis also stuck his head out of a window and screamed at the top of his lungs. He told police there was nobody else inside the residence except his dog and cat.

Police eventually entered the home and arrested Davis, who had been shouting profanities at officers from inside. While in the police vehicle, Davis “attempted to crawl through the divider and reach for a shotgun and assault rifle.”

He later grabbed an officer’s vest and attempted to pull him into the back seat.

“Davis was taken into custody and charged with simple assault, persistent disorderly conduct, disorderly conduct and institutional vandalism.” Those charges were later withdrawn.

While in the holding cell at the Jim Thorpe police station, Davis began to bang on the window and scream obscenities. After being handcuffed to a bench, police said, Davis continued to yell obscenities and bang his cuffs against the bench.

An autopsy report stated Spencer died of natural causes and that there was “nothing suspicious” about the death.

Davis said he didn’t hide the body, that where he buried her was easily seen.

He also told Serfass, “I’m sorry for the way things turned out.”

It was noted that Daniel Spencer requested restitution of $2,579 for funeral expenses and lost wages. Davis at first said he could not afford to pay that but after speaking with his defense counsel, Chief Public Defender Paul J. Levy, said he would make payments on the costs and fees.

Serfass placed Davis on probation for the maximum term allowed, two years, and ordered he supply a DNA sample, render 100 hours of community service, get a mental health evaluation, pay court costs of over $1,000, make restitution of $2,579 and pay a monthly supervision fee of $50 while on probation.