Michigan Man Who Claimed Wife Had Cancer Arrested After Her Body's Found 'Partially Frozen' In Freezer: Police

A Michigan man has been arrested after a welfare check at his home led police to find his wife’s body in a freezer, according to authorities.

On April 17, officers received a call from one of the victim’s relatives saying they were concerned since they hadn’t heard from her in a while, WPBN reported.

According to the Isabella County Sheriff’s Office, the wife and her family had a “falling out,” but some members of the family grew “increasingly” worried about her.

Officers went to the woman’s home in Mt. Pleasant and spoke with her husband, Terrell York. He allegedly told deputies she wasn’t there, WPBN reported.

However, York was arrested on an unrelated warrant and was taken into custody. Police then obtained a search warrant for the home, officials said.

York told detectives that his wife moved in with some family in Newaygo, but detectives talked with relatives and learned that wasn’t true, MLive.com reported.

Court records state York gave “erratic” answers while being questioned and was “looking all around the room.” He also told detectives his wife, Patricia York, “did not want her family to know where she was living.”

Deputies spoke with the Yorks’ landlord, who said Patricia used to pay him in cash until a year and a half ago, when she told him she had cancer, MLive.com reported. After that, Terrell started bringing over the rent money.

The landlord said he would ask Terrell how Patricia was doing every month and Terrell “would say she was getting treatment or something like that,” MLive.com stated.

While executing the search warrant, officers reportedly said the Yorks’ home was “filthy, smelled and had animal feces throughout the floors,” MLive.com reported.

Deputies found a chest freezer in the kitchen and discovered Patricia’s body when they opened it. Officers said she was “partially frozen and appeared to have been inside for quite a length of time, wrapped in a blanket,” according to MLive.com.

Investigators talked to Terrell, who said Patricia died on Sept. 13, 2022, of natural causes and he did not tell anyone about her death because he was “scared” since “she was so sick before she died,” officials said.

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Terrell allegedly continued receiving his wife’s Social Security payments and spent the money on food and other utilities, MLive.com reported.

A preliminary autopsy was completed and reportedly did not show any signs of foul play, authorities said.

York was booked into the Isabella County Jail on a charge of concealing the death of an individual. His bond is set at $5,000.