Texas Man Arrested After Father's ‘Badly Decomposed’ Body Found in Chained Refrigerator: Sheriff

Law enforcement officials in Texas said they discovered a “badly decomposed” body inside a chained refrigerator after the family of a man in his 70s asked police to do a welfare check since they hadn’t seen or talked to him for months.

Deputies responded to the elderly man's home in San Antonio and spoke with a man through a Ring camera who identified himself as the person they were looking for, according to a press conference with Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.

However, Salazar said the deputy “got the sense it was not him.” Later that same day, the deputy was able to talk with the homeowner's family, who said the voice on the Ring was not their father.

When the family met deputies at the home, they discovered 48-year-old David Michael Gibson, officials said.

Deputies and family members also found a refrigerator chained shut in the garage that “appeared suspicious in nature,” Salazar said.

Deputies opened the fridge and found human remains inside, according to Salazar.

Family told KENS they saw a human head when they opened the fridge door and slammed it shut.

Salazar noted it was too early to tell if the victim was murdered or not, but, he said, "What we have is a badly decomposed body that’s been there for some time.”

According to family members, they hadn’t heard from or seen the victim in months and there were “indicators” that Gibson had been living with the remains for a long time, authorities said.

Gibson was allegedly cashing checks from his father’s Social Security and military pension, police said. The victim also hadn’t refilled his prescriptions for a while.

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Gibson was arrested and charged with tampering with a corpse, officials said.

He was booked into the Bexar County Jail and was being held on a $250,000 bond.

An autopsy will be completed to determine the cause and manner of death, officials said.