British man jailed for embezzling government benefits by keeping mother’s body in freezer for 3 years
A court in the UK has sentenced a British man to more than two and a half years in prison. He embezzled more than $100,000 in government benefits and pensions by hiding his mother’s body in a chest freezer for almost three years after her death.
The accused is 60-year-old Christopher Phillips. Yesterday (August 3), Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clark announced the verdict in the case and sentenced Phillips to two years and four months in prison. According to court documents and police sources, Christopher’s 89-year-old mother Sylvia Phillips died at her home in South Porthcawl, Wales, in March 2023. But after her mother’s death, her son Christopher put her body in a chest freezer instead of having her buried in a legal manner.
Suspicion was raised when Sylvia Phillips had not been seen by a doctor or health worker since September 2022. Later, in response to concerns from authorities, police raided the home in February this year. During police questioning, Christopher initially claimed that his mother was staying with relatives in London. But after searching the home, police found Sylvia’s body in the freezer.
Investigators said that flowers and a birthday card from her son and pet dog were placed next to the elderly woman’s body in the freezer. According to UK media reports, Christopher admitted to a psychiatrist that he “couldn’t forget his mother.” His lawyer said that he slept in the same room for long periods of time to be near his mother’s body.
Over nearly three years, Christopher illegally withdrew about 78,000 pounds (about 12 million rupees or about 108,000 US dollars) from government welfare funds and pensions by pretending that his mother was alive. The court charged him with concealment and fraud by not burying the body. “This is a deeply sad and distressing case,” Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clark said during sentencing. “A mother has been kept in a freezer for three years after her death in order to make money.”
South Wales Police Detective Chief Inspector Claire Lammerton said in a statement: “This is a deeply sad case where Phillips has profited financially over a long period by concealing her mother’s death.” Police said the exact cause of Sylvia Phillips’ death is still unknown and an investigation is ongoing.
Source: The Dawn
