Friday, April 17, 2026 - A son has pleaded guilty to keeping his de@d mum’s body in a chest freezer at home for more than two years to pocket her pension.
Retired company secretary Sylvia Phillips, who was aged in
her 80s, d!ed at some point in 2023.
Rather than give his mum a proper burial, Christopher
Phillips, 60, put her in a chest freezer at home in Porthcawl, South Wales.
He then accessed her bank account and made withdrawals from
her savings and £1,000-a-month benefits to fund his bachelor lifestyle.
His scheme unravelled when police were called by Sylvia’s
doctor to carry out a welfare check.
They discovered the pensioner in the freezer and arrested
former company director Phillips at the property.
He has now pleaded guilty to preventing a decent and lawful
burial of his elderly mother.
Phillips also admitted to two counts of fraud for accessing
her accounts and pocketing her pension.
He was accused of preventing a burial between October 2nd,
2022, and February 16, 2026 – although the court later heard Syliva d!ed in
2023.
The fraud charges state Phillips had failed to disclose to
the Department for Work and Pensions and Bridgend Council that his mother had
d!ed.
Ruth Smith, defending, said: “There will be a basis of plea
which specifies the date of the death of Mr Phillips’ mother, which was in
2023.
“The defence do seek bank statements and information from
the two agencies themselves. It is accepted that Mr Phillips did continue
withdrawing the monies from his mother’s account and effectively lived on
them.”
Phillips was remanded into custody ahead of sentence in
June.
An inquest heard yesterday how Syliva’s cause of de@th
remains unknown.
Coroner’s officer Joanne Webb said: “Police received a phone
call from a GP practice requesting a welfare check on an elderly patient.
“During the search of the property they located the body of
a female believed to be Sylvia Phillips in a chest freezer.”
The Pontypridd hearing was told that criminal investigations
were “ongoing”.
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