Casket, remains found in storage unit

CLEARWATER - A casket containing a woman's remains was found in a Clearwater storage unit Thursday afternoon, and it appears a family's secret has been unearthed.

"We do have a body, and we think that it's Grandma," said Joelle Castelli, with the Clearwater Police Department.

According to a manager at U-Stor Self Storage Unit at 1217 Lakeview Roa, the people renting unit B8 were warned last week they were behind on their rent.

That's when a family member said not to go in there, because of the body inside. The managers thought the claim was an excuse to buy more time, and paid little attention.

By Thursday, when no check arrived, they opened the unit. There it was: a blue casket with white handles. When authorities opened it, they discovered the woman's body.

Police said the woman died in 1995. They said the family members who put her in there have since passed away.

Investigators said the woman's granddaughter had learned the secret from her mom.

"My mother told me on her deathbed, that Grandma is in the storage unit…You can't sell our stuff," is what Castelli said the panicked woman told investigators.

The family had been renting the storage unit since 1985. They have three rental units at U-Stor and manager Kevin McKeon said they hadn't paid rent since December 1, so he and his staff were preparing to sell their stuff at auction.

McKeon said they were busy getting ready for another auction, so in the meantime, they changed the padlock and the gate code so the tenant couldn't access the unit.

They got to the unit Thursday, and made the gruesome discovery: the grandmother's coffin inside the 10x10 room. The medical examiner said she appeared to have been properly prepared for burial, but never made it to a cemetery.

Her remains will be taken to A Life Tribute, a funeral home in Largo. Investigators have not released the identity of the woman, or her family members. Police say they have death certificates for both women -- but at this point, they don't know where the mom is buried.

It's unclear what charges can be brought against those who knew the family secret.