An Arizona man stored his deceased father in a freezer for years to keep their home, police say

By Karina Tsui, CNN

(CNN) — A man in Arizona told detectives he put his deceased father’s body in a freezer and moved it around the state for four years — all to keep a roof over his head, police say.

Joseph Hill was arrested last week on multiple charges, including concealing a body in his backyard and failing to report the death of someone not under the care of a healthcare provider, according to police. CNN has reached out to the Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender for comment.

A bond of $25,000 was set for his release, according to a final release order of the case. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 4.

According to court documents obtained by CNN, Tempe police received an online tip on October 22 alleging the 51-year-old Arizona native was keeping his dead father, Joseph Hill Sr., in a freezer in the backyard of his residence. The tip described the freezer to be covered in a tarp and blankets.

Police visited Hill at his home the same day but were barred from inspecting the freezer, according to a probable cause statement in the documents. The defendant claimed his father had passed away in Oregon four years ago.

Detectives on the case attempted to verify Hill Sr.’s record of death but were unable to do so, according to the statement. They instead found records showing Hill’s father was still the owner of the home and that he was collecting Social Security benefits up until March 2023.

Detectives arrived at Hill’s residence days later after obtaining a search warrant, according to the statement. Upon explaining the terms of the warrant, Hill’s “demeanor began to change,” police said, and he revealed there would be “something in the freezer.”

After being read his Miranda Rights, Hill told police his father passed away at the residence four years ago, according to the statement. The next day, he said he bought a freezer with the intention of eventually burying his father in a plot of land he purchased in Strawberry, Arizona, the documents noted.

Hill told police he did not want to report Hill Sr.’s death because he was not on the deed of the Tempe home and was afraid to lose his residence, the statement said.

Over the past four years, Hill said he intermittently lost power in both his Strawberry home and the residence in Tempe due to fires, causing him to move the freezer around, the statement said.  On several occasions, Hill also attempted to bury the freezer in the desert, but he claimed that there were “always people out there,” according to documents.

The freezer has been in his backyard, without power, for roughly four to six months, the statement said.  Detectives removed layers of tarp, blankets, saran wrap and duct tape to find human skeletal remains in the freezer, as well as an “extensive amount of biological matter,” according to documents.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to release an autopsy report that would determine Hill Sr.’s cause of death.

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