Charges against a Pennsylvania caretaker, John W. Saunders, who was accused of drinking “century-old whiskey hidden away in the mansion of a former coal baron” was dropped following his death, according to Trib Total Media. Saunders died on July 21, and the court dismissed the case a week later.
Saunders was “charged with theft and receiving stolen property for allegedly consuming 52 bottles of the vintage whiskey, which he denied.” The allegedly stolen whiskey was Old Farm Pure Rye Whiskey, distilled in 1912 by West Overton Distilling Co.. Patricia Hill, the new owner of the mansion Saunders was looking after, discovered 100 bottles of Old Farm stashed in a staircase and under the floor during a renovation.
Hill reported to police that someone had drunk the contents from the majority of the cases, and genetic testing found Saunders’s DNA on all empty bottles. “Yuk! That stuff had floaters in it and all kind of stuff inside the bottles,” said Saunders as he denied the charges. “I don’t think it would even be safe to drink.”
Hill plans to donate the empty bottles to a museum after she gets them back from police. [Trib Live] [Photo: Flickr/quijonido]