Authorities are continuing to investigate after two women were found deceased inside a Fyffe residence on Thursday.
According to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the 200 block of County Road 158 along with the Powell Police Department and DeKalb Ambulance Service, where they located two deceased females inside the home.
The DeKalb County Drug and Major Crimes Unit was called to the scene and launched an investigation. Investigators processed the residence, interviewed neighbors and witnesses, and later identified the victims as 79-year-old Ruth Genett Rowland of Fyffe and 76-year-old Charlotte W. Harper, also of Fyffe.
As part of the ongoing investigation, authorities executed a search warrant at a residence in the 1400 block of Forest Avenue in Fort Payne, where additional evidence was collected.
Oliver Nick Harper, 37, of Fort Payne, was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of abuse of a corpse. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the charges stem from actions taken in the days following the women’s deaths and before their discovery on December 4, 2025.
The Sheriff noted that the investigation remains active and that further charges may be filed as the case develops.
