Mysterious death in Virginia linked to Philly captives case

When she rented a house in Norfolk, Va., in 2008, Linda Ann Weston told the landlord she was providing care for the three disabled women who moved in with her.

Social Security checks began to arrive shortly after the group moved in Oct. 1, said landlord Mohammad Zarandi.

On Nov. 13, an ambulance was called for one of Weston's wards: Maxine Lee, 39. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A medical examiner cited the cause as acute bacterial meningitis and noted she also suffered from cachexia, a wasting syndrome. He ruled that her death was from natural causes.

The rest of the women in the house bolted immediately, Zarandi said.

When Zarandi saw on television that Weston, 51, had been charged with keeping four mentally challenged adults locked in a Tacony basement while stealing their Social Security checks, he drew one conclusion: "It looks like the same thing happened in Philadelphia."

Norfolk Police Officer Chris Amos said Tuesday that there were no signs of foul play in Lee's death and that Weston was never a suspect.

But, he added, investigators now may be speaking with the Medical Examiner's Office to review the case.

Lee grew up in a redbrick house near the corner of 60th and Callowhill Streets in West Philadelphia, her mother, Mary Lee, 64, said Tuesday.

After graduating from high school, Maxine Lee lived with an aunt. Later, she drifted from house to house, often living with other female roommates.

"She just fell in with the wrong crowd," her mother said. "We just lost track of her over the years."

When detectives in Virginia called in 2008 with news that her daughter had been found dead, Mary Lee said she was stunned.

Three years later, she said, the circumstances of her daughter's death still did not make sense to her. Investigators said Maxine Lee was found alone in the house propped up in a chair. Her feet had been damaged, Mary Lee said.

There were no IDs left at the scene, and it took officers more than a month to track down the Lee family in Philadelphia.

The connection between her daughter's mysterious death two years ago and the horrific allegations surrounding Weston puzzles Mary Lee.

"I don't know what to think," she said. "Nobody's told me."