Elderly Woman’s Body Found Inside Refrigerator In LA Home; Daughter Detained And Released

A woman in Los Angeles was detained and later released after police found the body of her 87-year-old mother inside a refrigerator at her home, authorities said.

The incident came to light Sunday when deputies responded to a home in Riverside for a welfare check after the family members of the elderly woman called up the authorities complaining that they have not heard from her in weeks, ABC 7 reported.

The deceased woman's 64-year-old daughter, who is believed to be her caregiver, initially told the officers that her mother was not at home. However, after the deputies noticed that there were many inconsistencies in her story, they decided to search the house, the report said.

The officers detained the daughter and went inside the residence where they found the elderly woman's body inside a refrigerator in the garage.

The body was sent for an autopsy to determine whether the woman died of natural causes before she was placed inside the refrigerator. The woman’s daughter was released after questioning and an investigation is underway, police said.

The officers who responded also noticed hoarder-like conditions at the home. However, the investigators have not yet revealed any further details about the unidentified woman and her daughter.

"I’ve been doing this for 19 years, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” Javier Cabrera, a spokesperson for the Riverside Police Department, was quoted as saying by Los Angeles Times.

A neighbor, shocked by the discovery, was cited as saying by KTLA 5 that both the women were generally quiet neighbors who kept to themselves. “I mean it doesn’t look good putting a body in a freezer,” the neighbor added.

Last week, a 68-year-old woman’s decomposing body was found inside a Queens apartment that she shared with her daughter. The body of the victim, identified as Cynthia Jones, was wrapped in a garbage bag and was discovered from the house when a building superintendent came home to check out a leak. Police had sent the woman's body for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

The woman's daughter was reportedly known around the building to have been suffering from mental health issues. However, according to preliminary investigation, she was not believed to be connected with her mother’s death.