Woman believed to be ‘agoraphobic’ was actually dead and kept in freezer by her son

Neighbours believed a woman not seen publicly for three years was agoraphobic. She was actually dead and had been stored in a freezer by her son.

Christopher Phillips, 60, was sentenced on Monday after admitting to storing his 89-year-old mother Silvia in the living room of their home in Poplar Crescent, Porthcawl.

He also fraudulently claimed over £78,000 in benefits following her death.

Phillips, described by residents as ‘quiet’ and someone who ‘kept himself to himself’, had reportedly explained his mother’s lack of public appearances by claiming she was ‘agoraphobic’ – a condition commonly associated with a fear of open spaces or leaving the house.

They said: “I don’t know how many people knew about that or where that came from. That’s the only thing we ever sort of knew about them.

“It just seems to be a very sad story. I don’t personally think he was a bad guy, I don’t think he was well.

“It’s crazy and I think it’s a failure of our community to be honest, myself included, that we didn’t really communicate enough with him.

“It strikes me as quite a failure that we as a sort of group of neighbours didn’t become aware of it sooner, so I sort of regret that.

“He didn’t strike me as someone who was super weird, he just came across as someone quiet. It’s worrying how it went under the radar.”

The court heard Phillips had left work to become a full-time carer for his mother in the months leading up to her death in March 2023.

Following her death, for which the cause remains unknown, Phillips purchased a chest freezer and used this to store her body inside the living room of the property.

The court heard the body was covered with a leopard print throw and found alongside roses and a birthday card, reading “To Mum, from Christopher and Tina”, a reference to the family dog.

Another neighbour said it was “creepy” to learn that the body of Ms Phillips had been frozen in the living room of the property for years.

“We’ve been here 10 years and we’ve only seen (Phillips) about three times,” they added.

“We had no idea that (his mother) was living there.”

Another neighbour said: “It’s a shock, I guess, it’s a nice street.

“He was quite quiet, he kept himself to himself.”

“Perhaps that was his way of dealing with things,” another said.

“Perhaps he just couldn’t grieve in the way most people do.”

The body of Ms Phillips was found by police officers in February after concerns for her welfare were raised by the medical practice she previously attended.

Phillips received a total of £78,190.92 in state pension, pensions credit, attendance allowance, winter fuel payments, cost-of-living payments and housing benefit payments, which would have ceased had Ms Phillips’ death been reported.

On Monday, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff, sentenced him to two years and four months’ imprisonment.