Dead man let wife hide him in freezer to collect benefits, his note says

When Jeanne Souron-Mathers died in Tooele, Utah, last month, police were stunned to find the remains of her late husband Paul — whom they didn’t know was dead — stashed in a chest freezer.

But Paul might be able to explain, thanks to a notarized letter police found at the now-deceased elderly couple’s house in their retirement community. The letter reportedly suggests that Souron-Mathers hid her husband’s body with his permission so she could continue to live off his benefit cheques for a decade.

“It was notarized on Dec. 2, 2008,” Tooele Police Sgt. Jeremy Hansen told Fox 13. He added that her husband appears to have died of a “terminal illness” in February or March of 2009.

Investigators found the letter while combing over the couple’s house following the death of Souron-Mathers, 75, last month. Paul Mathers, 69, was found wrapped in garbage bags in a chest freezer, according to an unsealed search warrant obtained by CNN.

Police have not released the text of the notarized letter. However, they say they’re now looking into the possibility that Souron-Mathers might have been collecting her late husband’s benefit cheques with his permission from beyond the grave.

Hansen says police have interviewed the notary who stamped the letter, but she indicated that she did not read it before she signed off on it.

Detectives are still piecing together the various elements of the alleged scheme. They’ve consulted a handwriting expert about the letter and are also looking into medical and financial records, Hansen told The Associated Press. They believe Souron-Mathers collected more than US$177,000 from the government after her husband’s secret death.

Souron-Mathers is thought to have been dead for a few weeks before she was discovered on Nov. 22.

Evan Kline, who lives in the same retirement community, said Souron-Mathers was a “very nice person” who talked to him often about her doctor’s appointments.

“The story that — at least she was putting out — was her husband walked out on her,” Kline told CBS News.

Kite told Fox 13 that it seemed like a smart idea, but “it’s still creepy.”

“I wouldn’t want to live in an apartment with my dead husband or dead wife,” he said.

— With files from The Associated Press