Lebanon County man charged after wife found dead, allegedly concealed for month

Michael Mikula is accused of turning a South Londonderry Township home on Timber Lane into a crime scene that stayed hidden for weeks. Lebanon County prosecutors say the 68-year-old lived with his wife’s body after Sharlene Mikula, 66, died inside the residence, then tried to keep authorities from learning what had happened.

Police were called to the house around 2:30 p.m. on April 14 for a welfare check. According to the Lebanon County District Attorney’s Office, Mikula first told officers his wife was not home. Police searched the property anyway and found Sharlene Mikula dead inside. By then, the body was in such an advanced state of decomposition that the Lebanon County hazmat team had to be sent in to remove it.

That detail is the one that makes the timeline so unsettling. Investigators believe Sharlene Mikula had been dead for about a month before she was found, and officials said there was no evidence Michael Mikula sought medical help or notified authorities. If prosecutors prove that sequence, the case could hinge not just on what caused her death, but on what happened in the days and weeks after it, and on whether the concealment was deliberate.

The coroner completed an autopsy on April 16, and results could take up to three months. Later reporting said full-body X-rays taken during the autopsy showed multiple fractures in various stages of healing, adding another layer to the investigation. The exact cause and manner of death remain unresolved for now, but the autopsy findings could shape whether more charges follow.

Mikula was arrested and charged on April 17 and later arraigned by Magisterial District Judge David Warner. He was held on $100,000 bail. The charges include neglect of a care-dependent person, abuse of corpse, recklessly endangering another person, obstructing administration of law and tampering with evidence. South Londonderry Township detective Robert Lighty and Lebanon County Detective Bureau investigator Ryan Adams handled the case.

Family members told WGAL they were “absolutely heartbroken” and asked for justice. They had previously requested welfare checks because Sharlene Mikula struggled with mental health, and the station reported she had been hospitalized at a behavioral health center for about two months last year. Officers also encountered a foul odor and flies at the home, according to later reporting, signs that reinforced the suspicion that Sharlene Mikula had been dead far longer than a routine welfare check would suggest. With the autopsy still pending and the investigation ongoing, prosecutors now have a grim timeline to build around concealment, delay and intent.