Woman Hid Husband’s Body In Freezer Allegedly To Claim His Social Security Benefits

Police officers who responded to a house in Salt Lake City, Utah, to check on an elderly woman last month were in for a surprise when they found the dead body of the woman’s husband in the freezer. The woman was also found dead in the apartment. They also retrieved a notarized letter “written” by the man that said the woman was not responsible for his death, authorities said Monday.

Police suspected that the 75-year-old woman, Jeanne Sourone-Mathers, had hidden the dead body of her husband in a freezer and had forged the letter as she did not want to give up the man's social security and Veteran's Affairs benefits. It was speculated that she did so as it was her only source of income.

The investigators had gone to check on the woman and found her dead in an apartment on Nov. 22. After further investigation, the dead body of her husband was found in the freezer. Police confirmed that Jeanne had died of natural causes and the body of the husband was sent for analysis.

The letter found by the police in the house was notarized and clearly mentioned that Jeanne was not responsible for the death of the husband. The letter, allegedly written by Paul Edward Mathers, the 69-year-old man whose body was found in the freezer, dated back to Dec. 2008. Police said the man died somewhere between February 2009 and March 2009. It was suspected that Jeanne had received an amount of almost $177,000.

Local reports said the police had sent the letter for further analysis after handwriting experts said it differs from Paul’s original signature and might have been forged.