Linda Ann Weston, 51, is accused of locking up four mentally disabled adults in a boiler room at a Philadelphia apartment.

Story highlights

Maxine Lee, 39, died in 2008 in Norfolk, Virginia

She was a roommate of Linda Weston, the alleged ringleader of a group of suspects

The group is charged with locking up four mentally disabled adults in an apartment's boiler room

CNN  — 

The family of a woman who died three years ago wants to know whether she is the victim of a suspect accused of locking up four people in a Philadelphia basement.

Maxine Lee, who died in 2008 in Norfolk, Virginia. was a roommate of Linda Weston, the accused ringleader of a group charged with locking up four mentally disabled adults in an apartment’s boiler room.

“I want police to re-open this. I do,” her sister, Tracey Lee, told CNN. Lee said her family believes she died under suspicious circumstances.

The suspects are charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, criminal trespass, and conspiracy. The alleged victims were discovered severely malnourished, without food, and left with buckets to go to the bathroom. A landlord discovered them and called police.

Maxine Lee died after disappearing several years earlier. She had last worked as a security guard after jobs with the post office and the IRS, her family told CNN.

Her relatives didn’t know what happened to her until they got a call in November 2008 from Virginia police saying Maxine was dead. She rushed to Norfolk from Philadelphia to get whatever information she could from police.

“I was surprised that they weren’t at all supportive,” Lee said.

Lee said police told her they couldn’t find Weston or another man who had been in the apartment.

When she asked about whether they had any of her sister’s belongings, she said police “printed me a map to find her house on my own.”

“I felt like I was a reporter trying to find out what happened,” Lee added.

Lee says she was taken to identify her sister’s body. “Her hair was falling out,” she said.

She was told her sister died of acute bacterial meningitis with a contributing factor of malnutrition. Her manner of death is listed as “natural causes.”

Tracey Lee says her family was devastated. She was frustrated police said they couldn’t find the people living with her sister. When she heard Weston’s name in connection with the bruised, malnourished, allegedly mistreated disabled woman and three men imprisoned in a basement, she immediately recognized the name.

“I said ‘it can’t be. It can’t be.’ I was distraught,” Lee said.

After hearing about Weston’s charges, Tracey Lee wonders whether her sister could be another possible victim of Weston’s.

“I think she played a role (in her sister’s death). “Maxine probably went days without water. And if she was so sick, why didn’t she take her to the ER?” she said.

Norfolk Police tell CNN they’re looking at Maxine Lee’s case again but haven’t formally re-opened it.

Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers says they’re aware of Maxine Lee’s death and her connection to Weston.

They’ve set up a task force to investigate every aspect of the Philadelphia case, looking for more people who might have been victimized by Weston and her co-defendants.

Investigators found about 50 different identification cards among Weston’s belongings.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told CNN on Monday that Weston had IDs for about 50 people in her possession: “Social Security information, power of attorney information, those kinds of things.”

“We’re looking at everything,” Evers said. ‘Are these people dead, alive?” He says they have to track down each person and look for any connections to Weston and her three co-defendants.

Police say Weston’s motive may have been befriending needy victims and eventually ripping off their Social Security checks.

The case continued to develop Friday when CNN uncovered new information that shows the Philadelphia case was not the first time Weston has drawn scrutiny for possible Social Security fraud.

The Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General confirmed to CNN that it investigated Weston in 2009 for continuing to collect benefits for her roommate, Maxine Lee, after she died of acute meningitis.

When the administration finally cut off benefits, Weston appeared at a Philadelphia office seeking to have the benefits reinstated, the Office of Inspector General said in a statement to CNN.

The money – totaling less then $3,000 – was repaid to the Social Security Administration, the inspector general said.

The acknowledgment by the inspector general’s office has raised questions about why the Social Security Administration allowed Weston, a convicted murderer, to serve as a “representative payee” for a Social Security recipient. Under Social Security Administration policy, certain individuals convicted of criminal offenses are prohibited from serving as representative payees.

The Social Security Administration is reviewing its handling of Weston. After initially asking for questions for comment in writing from CNN, a spokeswoman for the administration declined to provide details of the Weston case, including whether Weston was the representative payee for any of the people found in captivity in Philadelphia.

“We are very concerned about this situation. As this is an ongoing investigation, we can’t provide you any details at this time,” spokeswoman Kia Green said.

As for Tracey Lee and her mother, they plan to attend Monday’s first public court appearance for Weston and the three other defendants in Philadelphia.

“I plan on getting up early and sitting in the first row, ” Mary Lee said.

CNN’s Mike Ahlers and Sarah Hoye contributed to this report.