Joseph Daniel Hill Jr., 51, has been arrested on charges of failing to report a death and concealing a body after authorities discovered his father’s remains in a freezer in the backyard of a Tempe home. The body had been stored for four years.
On October 25, 2024, police found the skeletal remains of Joseph Hill Sr. in a stand-up freezer behind the residence, which was registered under his name. Hill Jr. allegedly kept his father’s body after he passed away in 2020, fearing he would lose the house since his father’s name was not included in the property deeds.
According to police reports, Hill Jr. told officers that his father died in Oregon four years ago but had not been reported because of his concerns about losing the property. Despite this claim, detectives later discovered Hill Sr.’s Social Security benefits had been collected up until March 2023.
Upon returning to the home with a search warrant on October 25, investigators found Hill Sr.’s body wrapped in multiple layers of tape, saran wrap, bed sheets, and blankets, secured inside the freezer. Hill Jr. had purchased the freezer shortly after his father’s death, claiming that he initially intended to preserve the body for burial in Strawberry, Arizona.
He did, however, bring the body back to Tempe as a result of a fire-related power outage. Hill Jr. also admitted to trying to bury his father in the desert but giving up because there were “always people there.”
Hill Jr. faces charges related to the concealment of his father’s death, and a $25,000 bond has been set for his release. The case continues to unfold as investigators look into the circumstances surrounding the death and the handling of the remains.