(Liz Klimas) Linda Chase of Jackson, Mich., said that her boyfriend Charles Williams Zigler was the “only guy who was ever nice to me.”

According to the Jackson Citizen Patriot, Chase, 72, and Zigler lived together for 10 years. In December 2010 though, Zigler died in his sleep at age 67. Instead of letting go of her good friend though, Chase ended up keeping him in the chair in which he died.

“I didn’t want to be alone,” Chase told the Jackson Citizen Patriot, acknowledging what she did was morbid, something she’s not proud of and could potentially go to prison for.

Here‘s more from the Jackson Citizen Patriot on Chase’s perspective:

“He just fell asleep.” She kept him in his chair after he died, keeping him dressed and cleaned. His body did not stink, she said. She would talk to him and watch NASCAR races on television with him.

Sitting on her porch Tuesday, Chase teared up remembering times she and Zigler went fishing. The two were close friends who lived together for more than 10 years. There were not boyfriend and girlfriend, as the police and neighbors thought, she said.

Zigler could make her laugh, even on her worst days.

“If you had to know Charlie, he had the best sense of humor in this whole world,” Chase said.

Read more: The Blaze