Decomposed Body In Willcox Leads To Weapons, Drug Charges Against Girlfriend

Andrea Leann West [Photo courtesy of the Cochise County Sheriff's Office]

A woman found with the rotting body of her boyfriend at a Willcox RV park in the heat of July remains in the Cochise County jail awaiting trial on drug and weapons charges.

On July 22, Andrea Leann West led Willcox police officers to the badly decomposed body of Ronald Allen Rainwater inside the bathroom of the couple’s fifth-wheel trailer after complaints were received about the smell emanating from the trailer. She admitted failing to contact authorities when Rainmaker fell ill or after he died about one week before.

West, 38, has already completed a 60-day jail sentence on a misdemeanor charge of disruptive behavior related to not reporting a dead body. However, she has been indicted on two felony counts of prohibited possession of a firearm and four felonies related to drug offenses following execution of a search warrant in the trailer after Rainwater’s body was removed.

Court records show West was ordered to stand trial in December, but the case has been delayed due to questions about her competency to understand the charges and to assist in her defense.

Details about Rainwater’s death and the charges against West are outlined in a report by Willcox Det. Marsha Callahan-English. The report notes that the RV park manager went to Rainwater’s trailer around 5 p.m. to address the odor complaints received from neighboring tenants. The smell was so bad the neighbors demanded to be moved to another RV space.

The manager knocked on the trailer door and asked for Rainwater. The woman who answered to door -later identified as West- replied that Rainwater was “kinda here” before admitting he was dead, according to Callahan-English’s report.

Officers found that fluids from Rainwater’s bloated and blackened body had seeped through the trailer’s floor onto the ground beneath. An autopsy determined Rainwater died as a result of an overdose; a toxicology report lists the presence of methamphetamine, oxycodone, and a high level of fentanyl.

A syringe was found under the body when it was removed by mortuary staff. It’s unclear whether Rainwater would have survived the overdose if medical intervention had been available.

Willcox Police Chief Dale Hadfield noted the discovery was a grim one for Rainwater’s family and those at the RV park. He also recognized it was particularly challenging for all of the public safety and emergency medical personnel who responded.

“I would like to give my condolences to the families involved and to thank the officers, detectives, and first responders who worked extremely hard with a difficult case,” Hadfield said Tuesday. “It is because of their dedication we were able to provide Mr. Rainwater’s family with closure.”

Hadfield also credited the dedication of those serving the public “who continue to show up and do the job as professionals” no matter what situation they are called to deal with.