Father accused of stuffing son’s body in freezer dies while out on bail

HENRY COUNTY, Alabama (WDHN) – A father accused of causing the death of his 19-year-old special needs son has died before his case could go to trial, Coffee County Coroner Arnold Woodham confirmed to WDHN.

Court documents filed this week show that 44-year-old Micheal Shane Halstead died on Sunday, July 7.

WDHN is working to confirm the cause of death. Halstead was out on bail at the time of his death.

Halstead and his wife, 43-year-old Karen Tysinger Halstead, were charged with homicide and manslaughter in connection with the death of their son, Logan Michael Halstead.

According to the indictment, the Halsteads caused the death of 19-year-old Logan by neglecting him. The indictment further states that after his death, Logan’s parents wrapped his dead body in plastic bags and blankets and then stuffed it into a freezer.

The freezer and the body were found in late October 2023 in the backyard of a Headland trailer that the Halsteads had officially rented.

Sheriff Eric Blankenship told WDHN it is believed Logan Halsead’s body was placed in the freezer in late August 2023, shortly before the Halstead family moved from Headland to Jack, Alabama. The new tenants found the body while cleaning up the property.

According to investigators, Logan suffered from spina bifida.

The Halsteads were initially only accused of desecration of a corpse, but according to court documents, further investigations provided enough evidence to charge the couple with manslaughter.

No trial date has yet been set in the Karen Halstead case.

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