Norwegian man sentenced to 3.5 years for hiding deceased wife in freezer to collect her pension

The man's attorney explained the bizarre situation to local newspaper Nya Wermlands-Tidningen, saying, "They didn't want to be buried at a public cemetery but at the farm, actually. So he put her in the freezer to later bury her outside, and then it fell by the wayside," reported NDTV.

The man allegedly deceived his friends and family, claiming that his 60-year-old wife was still alive, even after her death from cancer in 2018.

Her family reported her missing when they lost contact with her. The man consistently told them she was either sleeping or unavailable, and later stated that she no longer wished to speak with them.

The police discovered her body in March, acting on a tip, and the man confessed to hiding her death and body.

According to the man's statements to investigators, he placed his deceased wife in the freezer after finding her dead in their home in Arjang, approximately 340 kilometers west of Stockholm. Shockingly, the same freezer was used for storing food.

During this time, the man continued to collect his wife's pension and tax rebates, amassing a total of over 1.2 million Norwegian kroner ($116,000).

Prosecutor Linda Karlsson noted, "The man also used the freezer for other purposes, which I argue means that the deceased person's sanctity of the grave was violated every time the man opened and closed the freezer, which is an aggravating circumstance."

The court convicted the man on multiple charges, including gross breach of civil liberties, gross fraud, mutilating a corpse, and falsification of documents.