Man imprisoned for two years after keeping his friend's corpse in a freezer

 Man imprisoned for two years after keeping his friend's corpse in a freezer

A guy was sentenced to prison for keeping his friend's corpse in a freezer for two years.

Living in an apartment with John Wainwright in Birmingham, Damian Johnson, 53, had known him for 27 years.

Derby Crown Court was informed that Johnson was "overcome with grief" after the death of Mr. Wainwright, 71, as the two had a "strong friendship".

Prior to this, the defendant had been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of fraud and three counts of obstructing the proper and legal burial of a deceased person.

Darron Whitehead, the prosecutor, said that he was "not ready to let go".

2015 saw the couple move into their shared apartment, with Johnson serving as Mr. Wainwright's certified caregiver.

The elderly guy passed away in September 2018, but it wasn't until August 2020 that his corpse was discovered in a freezer on a skip company's property.

Mr. Whitehead said that Johnson had called Mr. Wainwright a father figure and that the pair resided in Cleveland Tower, Holloway Head, in the heart of Birmingham.

Following the death of his companion, the prosecution said that Johnson was "not thinking rationally" and that "as time went on, he became unable to notify authorities."

Johnson allegedly bought a chest freezer for £462, measuring around two feet by three feet, but informed friends and family that Mr. Wainwright had passed away and that the funeral had already taken place. has come to an end.

He didn't get a death certificate or call the emergency services.

The fridge smells awful.

After Johnson was detained in connection with other crimes and the apartment was secured, the corpse was found in December 2019. The corpse was still inside the freezer, which had been turned off.

A significant scent was discovered when many personnel went to the apartment to do a security check, but removal workers removed the freezer in August 2020 because they thought the smell was coming from decaying food.

Workers at Budget Skips Services Ltd. ultimately located the corpse near Exhall, Warwickshire.

Although blunt force trauma was discovered during the post-mortem investigation, the cause of Mr. Wainwright's death was not determined.

Johnson, of Sun Street, Derby, told the court that he had lately entered his deceased former roommate's bank account.

According to mitigation witness Raglan Ashton, the couple had a "informal agreement" that allowed them to access funds in a joint account even in the event that one of them passed away.

Preventing a burial was deemed a "unusual offence" by Judge Shaun Smith Casey, who added that he was "not at all suggesting" that the defendant was responsible for Mr. Wainwright's death.

The magistrate said, "If you had accepted his death and done it in a normal way, he would have got a good and decent funeral."

"That is not what you did. You made a conscious decision to purchase a chest freezer. You were aware of your plan of action.

"You did nothing to assist in hiding that corpse. You did nothing to aid in its discovery."

"An offense so serious that immediate custody can only provide an appropriate punishment," the court said, denying Mr. Wainwright his right to be buried.