This undated photo released by the Pinal County Adult Detention Center shows Rodney Puckett. Police in Arizona say a detective making a traffic stop on Interstate 10 was speaking to a driver from Oklahoma when he noticed the man's dead wife in the passenger seat. Eloy police said in a statement that Puckett said Monday, May 13, 2019, that Linda Puckett died at a hotel in Texas and that he put her body in their vehicle before continuing their trip. Puckett was arrested on suspicion of abandonment or concealment of a dead body. (Pinal County Adult Detention Center via AP)
ELOY, Ariz. – The Latest on an Oklahoma man arrested in Arizona on suspicion of concealing his wife's dead body (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
Police say a man arrested in Arizona on suspicion of concealing his wife's dead body had been seen on security video moving a woman's body from a hotel room in El Paso, Texas.
Police said Tuesday that earlier footage showed the couple from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, walking into the room Sunday.
They say Rodney Puckett is seen the next day using a luggage cart to move Linda Puckett's body.
Puckett has told investigators he found his wife unresponsive and put her in their vehicle before continuing on to California.
The cause of death hasn't been determined.
Police in Eloy, Arizona, where Rodney Puckett was later arrested, say Linda Puckett had signs of blunt-force trauma on her body.
It's not known whether Rodney Puckett has an attorney who could comment.
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10:55 a.m.
Police in Arizona say a detective making a traffic stop on Interstate 10 was speaking to a driver from Oklahoma when he noticed the man's dead wife in the passenger seat.
Eloy police said in a statement that 70-year-old Rodney Puckett said Monday that 74-year-old Linda Puckett died at a hotel in Texas and that he put her body in their vehicle before continuing their trip.
Puckett was arrested on suspicion of abandonment or concealment of a dead body, and it's not known whether he has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
The body was turned over to the Pinal County Medical Examiner's Office to determine cause of death.
Police did not respond to requests for additional information, including the couple's hometown in Oklahoma or their destination.
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