NYC caregiver accused of placing dead elderly roommate inside garbage bag, claiming she had lice: sources

Joe Marino, Katherine Donlevy
·2 min read

A Bronx caregiver allegedly placed her dead 70-year-old roommate inside of a garbage bag instead of calling 911 when she made the discovery, claiming she did so because the woman had lice, police and sources said.

Inga Bearden, 53, was arrested Friday and charged with concealment of a corpse in connection to the death of the woman she cared for inside the luxury Bronx apartment the two shared with Bearden’s two teenage kids, according to cops and law enforcement sources.

The 70-year-old, identified by sources as Margie Ann William-Collins, took a long shower Thursday before settling down on her side of the living room, which she and Bearden used as a shared bedroom, sources said.

When Bearden went to check on William-Collins, she was dead.

The caretaker then called her 50-year-old husband, who doesn’t live in the apartment, and he allegedly helped Bearden place William-Collins’ body inside a black garbage bag, the sources said.

Margie Ann Williams-Collins’ family put her body in a garbage bag and laid it on her Bronx bed, police said.
Margie Ann Williams-Collins’ family put her body in a garbage bag and laid it on her Bronx bed, police said.

Bearden told investigators they placed Williams-Collins in the bag because she had lice and they were concerned it would spread, according to sources.

Williams-Collins’ daughter-in-law, 24, was the one to call 911 to report the death, the sources said.

The 70-year-old’s cause of death is still under investigation. Bearden told police that Williams-Collins was known to ingest silica gel packets, the nontoxic drying agent usually found in shoeboxes.

The elderly woman was known to eat silica packets, the caretaker told police. ABC 7
The elderly woman was known to eat silica packets, the caretaker told police. ABC 7
William-Collins shared the apartment with Inga Bearden and Bearden’s two children. ABC 7
William-Collins shared the apartment with Inga Bearden and Bearden’s two children. ABC 7

Bearden’s husband is still being sought by police.

William-Collins, Bearden and her daughter, 14, and 17-year-old son had been living in the two-bedroom apartment since October, according to police sources.

Some of the upscale building’s amenities include a game room, pet spa, yoga studio and business center, according to StreetEasy.