Jersey City Woman Hid Remains Of Deceased Mother: Prosecutor

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A Jersey City woman has been charged with concealing human remains and related charges following a three-hour standoff in her apartment with police on Saturday.

Cheryl Gatling, 53, was charged with concealing human remains, unlawful possession of a weapon and terroristic threats. According to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, Gatling concealed the remains of a 78-year-old woman who is believed to be her mother, and was found dead in her Arlington Avenue apartment Saturday night.

Police were called to the apartment just after 8 p.m. on Saturday night for a welfare check on a tenant on the fourth floor of the building. Gatling would not allow police into the apartment and barricaded herself in for three hours before eventually letting police inside, according to the prosecutor's office.

Once police were inside they found "a lifeless 78-year-old woman, presumed to be the mother of the defendant – Dorothy Gatling." The prosecutor's office said the woman is believed to have been dead for "an extended period of time."

The cause and manner of the woman's death has not been released.