Juneau police say wife hid husband's death and collected his benefits

Juneau police said Friday that a woman concealed her husband's death and kept applying for and collecting benefits in his name, including Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, Social Security and retirement benefits. One retirement provider, never told he had died, was still depositing payments into his account in July 2026.

Police identified the woman as Sheryl Ann McDonald-Pasquan, who died of natural causes July 14, 2025. Her husband, Ross Anthony Pasquan, would have been 74. The State Medical Examiner's Office determined that he also died of natural causes, related to severe cardiovascular disease.

On July 19, 2026, a person cleaning out McDonald-Pasquan's property in the Switzer Village area, in the 6500 block of Glacier Highway, found a locked chest freezer in a storage shed, police said. After finding a key and opening it, the person saw what appeared to be human remains wrapped in a tarp and went directly to the police station. The remains were identified as Pasquan on July 25.

Witnesses told investigators that Pasquan had significant health problems and that McDonald-Pasquan was his primary caregiver. They said she explained his absence by telling them he had been moved to a care facility outside Juneau. He was never reported missing.

Police could not determine when Pasquan died. Because the freezer was made in 2018, investigators believe his remains were placed in it sometime between then and McDonald-Pasquan's death in July 2025.

Investigators found no evidence that anyone else caused Pasquan's death or helped McDonald-Pasquan conceal it or collect his benefits. Both investigations are closed: the death investigation because the medical examiner found natural causes, and the benefits investigation because McDonald-Pasquan has died. She was never charged, and the police findings were never tested in court. Police did not say how much money was paid out.