Son who kept mum's body in freezer for years collected £78k of her benefits

Sincity Press Staff 1 hour ago 2 min read 1
Sincity Press Brief

Christopher Phillips’ mother, Sylvia, had yellow and pink roses and a birthday card placed on her body.

The tribunal heard Phillips moved downstairs to slumber adjacent to his mother's body. At times helium would unfastened the freezer and clasp her hand.

Sylvia Phillips had 26 appointments with her section GP signifier successful 2021, and six successful 2022, aft which determination was nary further contact.

The tribunal heard she was past seen successful A&E connected 24 September 2022 and her section GP made a location telephone connected 26 September but her lad continued to prime up her prescriptions.

Sylvia Phillips was invited to a reappraisal by the practice, but her lad said she would not travel to the country and she did not request the humor tests.

Christopher Phillips received a full of £78,190.92 successful authorities pension, pensions credit, attendance allowance, wintertime substance payments, cost-of-living payments and lodging payment payments, which would person ceased had the decease been reported.

He had been her superior carer since 2008, and the tribunal heard helium had resigned from his occupation successful precocious 2022 erstwhile her wellness declined further. The brace were described arsenic "somewhat isolated".

Ruth Smith, defending, said Phillips had told police: "I fundamentally didn't privation to fto her go."

She added: "He described talking to her arsenic if she was inactive alive… Sitting adjacent to her, talking to her astir tv programmes, Coronation Street, the equine racing, conscionable arsenic they ever did," she said, adding that helium was a "vulnerable individual".

Phillips sobbed successful the dock arsenic Smith said her lawsuit was "extremely adjacent to his mother" and was successful "extreme grief" pursuing her death.

She said helium showed a "lack of acceptance" astir her passing and "had astir created a mendacious communicative that she was inactive alive".

Sentencing Phillips, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said helium had "deliberately concealed" his mother's decease and "took steps to springiness the content that she was inactive alive".

"You continued to cod her medicine and lied to aesculapian professionals and yet the police," Lloyd-Clarke added.

"Rather than notify the authorities and marque arrangements for her lawful burial, you purchased a thorax freezer connected March 10th and concealed her assemblage wrong it," she said.

Lloyd-Clarke added that a timescale for confiscation proceedings would follow.