By admin 
ST. CROIX COUNTY, Wis. (WEAU/Gray News) – A former funeral director has been sentenced for hiding a woman’s body for more than two decades.
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This week, a judge handed Benjamin Hanson, 57, a 90-day jail sentence and four years’ probation after he took a plea deal for charges of hiding a corpse and felony theft.
Hanson must also maintain absolute sobriety and take part in mental health services.
Authorities said the case against Hanson dates back to 2002, when a group of Boy Scouts was walking through the woods in a rural area in Houlton and found a skull inside a plastic bag.
Last August, DNA testing identified the skull as 92-year-old Alyce Peterson, a woman who died of natural causes more than a year before the skull was discovered.
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According to the criminal complaint, Hanson was the funeral director for Simonet Funeral Home in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, in 2001 and provided funeral arrangements for Peterson.
During the investigation, a former employee expressed concerns about Hanson’s actions while he was at the funeral home, which included stealing and using the company credit card, authorities noted.
The current owners of Simonet Funeral Home expressed their deepest sympathies to the Peterson family and said Hanson has not worked for them, as his charges stem from events that occurred about a dozen years before they took ownership.
Peterson’s family requested privacy as they grieved the renewed attention surrounding their loved one’s death.
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