Disturbing details emerge after San Diego woman’s body was found hidden in a freezer
A California man forced a close friend at gunpoint to help him dump his wife’s body in a freezer, a new report claims.
Mary Margaret Haxby-Jones’ remains were found in the freezer at the back of the San Diego home she shared with her husband Robert Haxby last December.
She had not been seen for nine years and her body was only discovered after her husband suffered a stroke and was taken to a hospital.
An autopsy report was revealed and seen this week The Los Angeles Times claims that a friend, identified by CBS as Joseph Beneventin, told the family about her body.
The report also claims that Beneventin helped Haxby place her remains in the freezer.
Her manner and cause of death remain undetermined, with police believing her body was hidden so her husband could continue to claim her benefits.
They have failed to gather enough evidence in the case to prosecute, with Haxby also dying in February this year.
Beneventin has since come forward and said she died of natural causes because she was obese and suffered from dementia.
Mary Margaret Haxby-Jones’ remains were found in the freezer at the back of the San Diego home she shared with her husband Robert Haxby last December
They have failed to gather enough evidence in the case to prosecute, with Haxby, seen here, also dying in February this year.
Speaking to CBS8, he said: ‘Mary died of natural causes, she weighed 400 pounds. Bob told me that Mary had died.
“I go into the room and she’s turned 180 degrees. Her pelvis was in her face.’
However, when questioned by the outlet, he said he had “nothing to do with” putting her remains in the freezer.
He claimed he found her body in 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 have 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 died sometime in 2013 and her death was kept 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 back the mortgage were the checks Mary got.”
The outlet also revealed that Beneventin lives in a property owned by Haxby, and that the two homes are now in court.
Beneventin has since come forward and said she died of natural causes because she was obese and suffered from dementia
Her manner and cause of death remain undetermined, with police believing her body was hidden so her husband could continue to claim her benefits.
The lawyer now representing Haxby’s children has questioned Beneventin’s side of events.
Nicole D’Ambrogi told CBS: ‘There were plenty of opportunities for Joe to go to the police and report that Miss Haxby Jones was in the backyard freezer.
‘Yet he didn’t. What he did was he lived in Mr. Haxby’s house, rent-free.”
She appeared to suggest Haxby may also have been a victim of financial fraud, saying he too was suffering from dementia and was in a state of decline.
Haxby-Jones’ stepdaughter Wendy Edick also said: “It was completely shocking, also to know that no one missed her.”
She told the outlet that she was estranged from her father and that the two were veterans.