Man stores dead father in freezer for four years for fear of losing their home
A man from Arizona stored his dead father in a freezer for four years for fear of losing their home.
CNN International reported that Joseph Hill Jr., 51, was arrested last week on multiple charges, including concealing a body in his backyard and failing to report the death of someone not under the care of a healthcare provider.
Court documents showed that police received an online tip accusing Hill of keeping his dead father and namesake in a freezer covered in a tarpaulin and blankets in the city of Tempe.
Police visited Hill that same day but were prevented from inspecting the freezer. He said his father had passed away in Oregon four years ago.
Detectives tried to verify Hill Sr.'s record of death but were unsuccessful. Instead, they found records of the patriarch stating he's the property's owner and that he was collecting Social Security benefits up until March 2023.
Detectives obtained a search warrant and returned to Hill's residence but upon explaining the terms to him, police said his “demeanor began to change," saying there was “something in the freezer.”
After being read his Miranda rights, Hill said his father died at home four years ago. He then bought a freezer the next day, intending to bury his father in a plot of land he purchased in the community of Strawberry.
He said he didn't want to report his father's death because he's not on the deed of the house and was afraid to lose his residence.
Hill said he moved the freezer around over the past four years because he intermittently lost power in his Strawberry home and the Tempe residence due to fires.
He also attempted to bury the freezer in the desert many times, but wasn't able to because there were "always people out there."
The freezer has been in Hill's backyard for four to six months without power.
Detectives removed layers of tarpaulin, blankets, plastic wrap, and duct tape to find human skeletal remains there and an “extensive amount of biological matter."
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to release an autopsy report on Hill Sr.
A $25,000 (P1.4 million) bond was set for Hill's release, while a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4.