PHOENIX – An Arizona woman was apparently murdered more than two years ago by her daughter and granddaughter, who continued cashing her monthly payment checks, authorities said Tuesday.

The Prescott Police Department said Tara Aven, 46, and Briar Aven, 24, confessed to killing 77-year-old Sandra Aven in late 2016.

The two suspects lived next door to the deceased woman.

Police began investigating Tuesday after a concerned citizen reported that Sandra Aven hadn’t been seen in quite a while.

Briar Aven first said her grandmother was out of town, and both suspects gave inconsistent information.

That led officers to enter Sandra Aven’s residence, where they found a body that has yet to be identified. (Update: Prescott police on April 16 said the body was positively identified as Sandra Aven, and that she was killed by blunt force trauma.)

No other information was immediately available.

The investigation is ongoing. Anybody with information was asked to call Detective John Hanna at 928-777-1961.

Editor’s note: Earlier versions of this story said Sandra Aven was killed in late 2017. On April 16, Prescott police changed their estimate to late 2016.

Follow @KTAR923