Woman arrested for hiding her mother’s corpse for ten years in a freezer

A Japanese woman allegedly concealed the body of her deceased mother for ten years in a freezer. Aged 48, she explained her gesture by the fear of being evicted from the apartment if the death was discovered, the local press reported on Saturday.

Police said Yumi Yoshino, 48, was detained on suspicion of “hiding the body of a woman” found on Wednesday in a freezer in an apartment in Tokyo. The accused said she hid the body ten years ago because she “did not want to move” from the apartment she shared with her mother.

About 60 years old at the time of death

The rental of the apartment in a Tokyo apartment building was in the name of the mother, whose age at the time of death is estimated to be around 60, Kyodo News reported. Yumi Yoshino was forced to leave the apartment in mid-January following rent delays and it was someone who came to clean it who made the macabre discovery.

An autopsy carried out on the corpse could not determine the exact time and cause of death, according to the press.