Actor Carroll Spinney, best known as Big Bird in Sesame Street, is reeling after the body of a female jogger was found on his property.

The body of social worker JUDITH NILAN was found in a shed on Spinney's property on the Massachusetts-Connecticut border on Tuesday (13DEC05) - a day after her husband reported her missing.

Spinney is not a suspect in the crime, but his caretaker SCOTT DEOJAY has been charged with kidnapping. Massachusetts police have yet to charge him with murder as they work out border jurisdiction issues.

According to police, Deojay claims he knocked Nilan down with his car by accident and panicked, before dragging her into his car and dumping her body in the shed.

Deojay is currently being held on $510,000 (GBP283,000) bail.