Son accused of keeping dad’s body in a freezer in backyard and moving it around Arizona for years

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An Arizona man has been accused of stuffing his father’s body in an unplugged freezer and storing it in his backyard for years.

Joseph Hill Jr, 51, was arrested at his father’s Tempe home last week on a string of charges including one count of failure to report a death and one count of concealing a dead body.

According to charging documents, Hill allegedly left the remains of Joseph Hill Sr to rot inside the appliance for years because he feared he would lose his home if authorities learned his father had died. At one point, the freezer was unplugged and without power for between four and six months.

Tempe Police said it received an online tip last week claiming Hill was keeping his dead father in a stand-up freezer in the backyard of the home.

When officers arrived at the scene, the 51-year-old allegedly claimed that his father passed away in Oregon four years ago.

Hill prevented police from inspecting the freezer, which was covered in tarpaulin and blankets, according to a probable cause statement obtained by CNN.

According to court documents, investigators were unable to find any death records for Hill’s father – but instead found documents showing that Hill Sr was still the owner of the property. Hill Sr’s social security benefits had also been collected up until March 2023, according to authorities.

Days later, officers returned to the property with a search warrant and Hill’s “demeanor began to change,” according to court documents.

Hill then allegedly admitted that there was “something in the freezer.”

He allegedly told investigators that he had planned to bury his father in a plot of land at a property he purchased in Strawberry, Arizona, as per the probable cause statement.

Hill said he had refrained from telling authorities of his father’s death because he wasn’t on the deed to the Tempe property and so was worried he would lose the home, according to the documents.

He said that he had lost power in both the Strawberry and Tempe properties due to fires – causing him to move the freezer around.

Hill also allegedly planned to bury his father in the desert, but claimed there were “always people out there,” court documents alleged.

When investigators opened the freezer, they found layers of tarp, blankets, saran wrap, two ratchet straps and duct tape as well as “extensive amounts of biological matter,” according to the documents.

The remains were taken to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office pending confirmation of the identity, Tempe Police Department told The Independent. “Police cannot confirm the death of Joseph’s father until there is confirmation on the remains,” police said in a statement.

Hill is now being held on $25,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 4.