Christopher Phillips, 60, kept the body of his 89-year-old mother Sylvia Phillips in a chest freezer at their home in Porthcawl, south Wales, for nearly three years after her death in March 2023 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Phillips fraudulently received about £78,000 in pension and welfare benefits intended for his late mother during that time [1, 2, 3, 4, 6].

Phillips was arrested in February 2026 after welfare checks were triggered by concerns over Sylvia’s long absence from medical appointments since September 2022 [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]. He initially told police she was in London with relatives. However, a search uncovered her body wrapped in a leopard-print blanket inside the freezer, surrounded by flowers and a birthday card from Phillips and his dog [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

He admitted to preventing the lawful and decent burial of his mother and pleaded guilty to benefit fraud related to continuing to claim her pension and welfare payments after her death [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Police Detective Chief Inspector Claire Lamerton described it as “an extremely sad case where Phillips concealed his own mother’s death and financially profited for a significant period” [1].

The cause of Sylvia Phillips’ death remains unknown because the post-mortem could not determine it due to the body being frozen for so long [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]. Phillips told psychiatrists he did not want to let go of his mother and slept in the same room as the freezer. He said he spoke daily with her body about life and horse racing [1, 2, 5, 6]. Some of the fraudulently obtained money was reportedly used to pay his personal credit card debts and household expenses [6].

On August 3, 2026, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke sentenced Phillips to 2 years and 4 months in prison at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court for concealing his mother’s death and committing benefit fraud [1, 2, 4, 6]. The judge said, "You continued to collect her prescription and lied to medical professionals and eventually the police. Rather than notify the authorities and make arrangements for her lawful burial, you purchased a chest freezer... and concealed her body within it." [4]

Sylvia Phillips died at home in March 2023. Two days later, Christopher Phillips bought a chest freezer to store her body [4, 5, 6]. The case came to light after three years when police intervened following concerns about her absence from medical care [1, 2, 3, 4].