Rodney Puckett, left, was arrested after his dead wife’s nude body was found in his car (Picture: AZ Family/ CBS/ /WCSC)

A man was arrested after authorities found him driving with his dead wife’s naked body strapped upside down in his car.

Rodney Puckett, 70, was taken in police custody in Eloy, Arizona on Monday when he was pulled over and officers discovered his 74-year-old wife, Linda Puckett, dead in the SUV.

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Police said Rodney was wearing only his underwear and his wife was completely nude, laying with her head on the floorboard and her legs on the passenger seat’s headrest.

He told officers that his wife died in Texas as they were on a road trip to California.


Authorities said Linda Puckett’s death is being investigated as suspicious, but it is unclear if her husband was directly involved in her death.

Rodney Puckett was arrested for abandoning or concealing a body (Picture: Pinal County Adult Detention Center)

The Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office told KNXV that Linda Puckett’s body had signs of blunt force trauma, but a cause of death has not been determined.



In a statement, the Eloy Police Department said: ‘Rodney told detectives Linda died at a hotel in Texas during their trip. He moved her body into their vehicle, continuing toward their destination.’

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The pair was going through divorce proceedings, according to court documents. Linda had filed for divorce earlier this year and issued a protective order from her husband in February.

Police said fast food worker Maria Davis called police after she saw Linda’s body in the car.

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Davis told AZ Family: ‘I so happened to look on the passenger side and that’s when I seen he had the lady in there, she was like completely naked. The way she was face down, like laying down, and then I seen the color of her feet were like purple.’

She added: ‘He was normal, like really normal about it. He was calm, he ordered his food.’

Rodney Puckett was taken to Pinal County Jail and charged with abandonment or concealment of a body. He is being held on $100,000 bond.