An Arizona man was recently arrested for a disturbing crime involving his deceased father. Joseph Hill, Jr., aged 51, was found to have stuffed his father’s corpse in a backyard freezer and kept it there for years while continuing to collect his father’s Social Security checks.
The Tempe Police Department received a tip on October 22nd regarding a possible dead body hidden in Hill’s yard. When authorities arrived at the residence near McClintock Drive and Baseline Road, Hill initially refused to allow them near the freezer. However, after obtaining a search warrant, detectives were able to access the freezer.
Upon opening the freezer, which was tightly wrapped with tarps, blankets, Saran wrap, and duct tape, the police made a grim discovery – the skeletal remains of a human body. Hill eventually confessed to purchasing the freezer after his father’s death four years prior. He admitted that he had been afraid of losing the house, which his father had lived in since the 1960s, if he reported the death.
Neighbors described Hill’s father as frail and often unwell. Following his father’s passing, Hill decided to store the body in the freezer and continued to cash his father’s Social Security checks every month until March 2023.
Hill also revealed to the police that he had moved the freezer several times over the years with the intention of burying his father in the desert. However, he was always deterred by the presence of people in the area. For the last six months, the freezer had been sitting outside without power.
Hill was charged with concealing a body and failure to report a death, with the possibility of additional charges pending. He is currently held in Maricopa County Jail on a $25,000 cash bail.
The shocking nature of the crime has left neighbors and the community in disbelief, especially with the presence of children who are curious about the events unfolding at Hill’s residence. The twisted story of Joseph Hill, Jr. and his deceased father serves as a stark reminder of the darkness that can lurk behind closed doors.
