Inset left to right James Agnew and Suzanne Agnew (Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office) and James O’Neill (Lakewood Police Department). Background: The apartments where the purported threesome lived in Lakewood, Colo. (Google Maps).
A Colorado husband and wife are currently behind bars after keeping the third member of their “intimate” threesome dead at home for roughly 18 months to continue drawing his Social Security income, police allege.
James David Agnew, 55, and Suzanne Ruth Agnew, 57, stand accused of one count each of tampering with a deceased human body, and abuse of a corpse, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The husband is also charged with theft by larceny over $2,000, and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device over $2,000 – as well as two counts of introducing contraband into a correctional facility. The wife faces two different money-related charges: theft between $5,000 and $20,000, and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device in an amount between $5,000 and $20,000.
The macabre maintenance of the deceased man’s remains occurred in Lakewood – a large suburban city located immediately west of Denver.
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In late June, officers with the Lakewood Police Department were asked by the brother of James O’Neill, 62, to perform a welfare check – saying the family had not seen him since 2019 or spoken to him since 2021, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
At the apartment on South Ammons Street, a man exited and identified himself as “James,” police say. This man allegedly acknowledged his family’s inquiries but insisted he did not want to see or speak with them. Law enforcement later provided an image of the man they spoke with, taken from body-worn camera footage, to O’Neill’s brother. But the brother said that was the wrong James, according to police.
“Robert said this is not his brother,” the affidavit reads. “Agents later were able to identify this male as James Agnew but based on the conversation he appeared to be implying that he was James O’Neill.”
So, police returned to the residence and talked with the couple, but law enforcement was allegedly not allowed inside. The upshot of the second conversation was O’Neill being placed on a missing persons list. Police say the Agnews gave somewhat conflicting stories about whether or not the “missing” man ever lived with them, settling on a narrative where he briefly lived there, but moved out after meeting “some foreign woman online” several years back.
Days later, the brother called the Agnews to discuss an “inheritance that needed to be deposited” into O’Neill’s bank account, according to the affidavit. The witness told police the couple switched up to suggest O’Neill was somehow back in the house – but still refused to talk to him. Still, the brother said, the Agnews readily provided O’Neill’s bank account and Social Security numbers. Upon learning O’Neill would need to be present for the deposit, however, the couple “immediately stopped talking to him,” police allege.
Those combined conversations apparently set off alarm bells. The brother then decided to check O’Neill’s bank account activity by using the information the Agnews provided to him, according to the affidavit. The deceased man’s brother found “regular” activity, a monthly deposit of $967 in Social Security income, an overdraft of roughly $200, and “numerous ATM withdrawals,” police say.
The brother then provided that information to police.
Law enforcement continued their investigation. They subsequently obtained surveillance footage from a 7-Eleven where O’Neill’s debit card was used on multiple occasions. Images from around those timestamped transactions show James Agnew making purchases and leaving the 7-Eleven in question, according to the affidavit.
Left to right: James Agnew allegedly using the deceased’s debit card and leaving a 7-Eleven in Colorado (Lakewood Police Department).
In early July, James Agnew was “cooperatively” arrested for an outstanding warrant, according to police. Officers then “called in” to Suzanne Agnew and told her they wanted to talk – and that they had a search warrant. This was apparently all the wife needed to hear.
“She said she understood and immediately told me we would find James O’Neill’s body in the residence, indicating he was deceased,” an officer wrote in the affidavit. “I let other detectives know and then came back out to Suzanne to provide her with a Miranda Advisement. Suzanne indicated she understood the advisement and agreed to continue speaking with me at the station. Detectives searching the residence did find the body of a deceased male, presumed to be James O’Neill.”
During her subsequent interview, Suzanne Agnew explained that she referred to the deceased man as “Jim” and that the three had “been in a three way relationship” for years.
“She said they’ve lived together for many years and have had an intimate relationship with the three of them involved,” the affidavit reads.
Then, in December 2023, O’Neill died. His death is presumed to have been caused by a medical condition and/or drug use, according to the affidavit. The defendants are not suspected of killing him.
Suzanne Agnew allegedly admitted she was the one who initially refused to “give up” the man – and repeatedly acknowledged “it was wrong” not to report his death, according to law enforcement.
“I asked Suzanne about when they decided to cover up his body and she said after about a week the chihuahuas began ‘chewing’ on him so she covered him with a deflated air mattress to try to keep them away,” the affidavit continues.
During a separate interview, the husband allegedly admitted to using O’Neill’s debit card but said he had always had the PIN.
In sum, law enforcement determined the couple used roughly $17,406 of O’Neill’s Social Security money over some 18 months.
“James had less to say about Jim’s passing but provided a similar account,” the affidavit continues. “He didn’t remember exactly when Jim died but said he recalled it and could tell he was deceased. He didn’t initially provide reasoning as to why the police were not contacted but later told me he was aware of the SSI income that went into Jim’s account and said that was definitely a consideration in deciding whether or not to report his death.”
