MAN JAILED FOR STORING DEAD MOTHER IN FREEZER WHILE CLAIMING BENEFITS

Christopher Phillips, 60, has been sentenced to two years and four months' imprisonment after storing his dead mother's body in a freezer at their home in Porthcawl, Wales and continuing to claim her benefits. Phillips previously pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful and decent burial of his mother, Sylvia Phillips, 89, and to two counts of fraud for failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions and Bridgend County Borough Council of her death. His mother died on 8 March 2023, and Phillips kept her body in a chest freezer in the living room for nearly three years before it was discovered on 17 February. Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff, imposed the sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard that Phillips had left work to become his mother's full-time carer in the months before her death. The cause of death remains unknown. According to one account, Phillips received more than £78,000 of his mother's benefits during the period her body was stored; another report specified the total as £78,190.92. After his mother's death, Phillips purchased the chest freezer and placed her body inside, covering it with a leopard print throw and positioning it alongside roses and a birthday card reading "To Mum, from Christopher and Tina"—a reference to the family dog.

The discovery came following a police investigation into the welfare of Phillips's mother. The case proceeded through the Crown Court system rather than being handled summarily, reflecting the severity of the offences. Phillips's guilty pleas meant the matter did not proceed to trial.