A California man forced a close friend at gunpoint to help him dump his wife’s body into a freezer, a new report claims.
Mary Margaret Haxby-Jones’ remains were found inside the freezer in their rear of the San Diego home she shared with her husband Robert Haxby last December.
She hadn’t been seen in nine years, and her body was only discovered after her husband suffered a stroke and was taken to a hospital.
An autopsy report unsealed this week and seen by The Los Angeles Times alleges that a friend, identified by CBS as Joseph Beneventin, told the family about her body.
The report also claims that Beneventin helped Haxby put her remains inside the freezer.
Her manner and cause of death have been left as undetermined, with police believing that her body was hidden so her husband could continue to claim her benefits.
They have been unable to gather enough evidence in the case to prosecute it, with Haxby also passing away in February of this year.
Beneventin has since came forward and said that she died from natural causes due to being obese and suffering from dementia.
Speaking with CBS8, he said: ‘Mary died of natural causes, she was 400 pounds. Bob told me that Mary passed away.
‘I go into the room, and she is inverted like 180 degrees. Her pelvic was in her face.’
When questioned by the outlet however, he said he had ‘nothing to do with’ putting her remains in the freezer.
He claimed that he found her body inside the freezer the next day, saying: ‘I said “you can’t do this”, he said “why not?”
‘I said it’s against the law, you’ve got to bury her in the ground. So he went and got a shotgun and loaded it. He said: “Next time you talk about this guess where you’re going”.’
Beneventin said she had died sometime in 2013 and her death was keep quiet so Haxby could continue to claim her benefits.
He added: ‘He did it for financial gain because Mary took all the equity out of the house. The only way to pay the mortgage back was the checks Mary was getting.’
The outlet also uncovered that Beneventin resides in a property owned by Haxby, with the two homes now in probate court.
The attorney now representing Haxby’s children has questioned Beneventin’s side of events.
Nicole D’Ambrogi told CBS: ‘There were ample opportunities for Joe to go to the police and indicate that Miss Haxby Jones was located in the freezer in the backyard.
‘Yet he didn’t do that. What he was doing was he was living in Mr. Haxby home, rent free.’
She seemed to suggest that Haxby may have also been a victim of financial fraud, saying he too suffered from dementia and was in a state of decline.
Haxby-Jones’ stepdaughter Wendy Edick also said: ‘It was completely shocking, also to know that nobody has missed her.’
She told the outlet that she had been estranged from her father, and that the two had been veterans.