A Kentucky man hid the body of his dead mother in a freezer for years, then killed himself before anyone found out, police said.
Jon Whiteford took care of his 96-year-old mother, Fay Whiteford, at their Pulaski County home until she passed away from natural causes in 2011, Lex 18 news reported. But instead of reporting her death, Jon Whiteford hid his mother's body in a freezer at home and continued to cash her social security checks for nearly three years.
During that time, Jon's Pulaski County home in the city of Science Hill was repossessed, forcing him to stay at his friend's house next door, WVLT-TV reported.
It was only when Jon was investigated for fraud that authorities became suspicious. Jon shot and killed himself when police arrived at his friend's home.
"Jon stored her in a freezer from 2011 until around Christmas of 2013, when he was forced to leave his home," Pulaski County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Brett Whitaker told Lex 18 news.
Social security agents noticed in February that Faye Whiteford had not made a medical claim in three years, which led to a welfare check being flagged because they assumed she was dead, WVLT-TV reported. Unable to find records of her death, investigators tried to find Faye's son, who was in charge of her finances.
Jon was interviewed and confirmed his mother was dead but would not say how she died or where she was buried. By that time Jon's home on Maggie Lane was in foreclosure and he was living in his car, WVLT-TV reported.
Pulaski police later tracked Jon down to his neighbor's home on Mach 29, where he was now staying. But the son committed suicide before police could speak to him.
Faye's body was later found tied up in a tarp in the front yard of a home Jon was trying to rent on Brammer Hill Ridge Road. Jon had his mother in a freezer at the Maggie Lane home, but moved the body when he was forced to leave, Lex 18 news reported.
"He just got himself into trouble, and once you do something like that, there is really no way out," Al Fried, a friend of Jon, told Lex 18 news.
