Body of woman, 81, found in freezer by horrified family

06 January 2024 , 14:44

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Body of woman, 81, found in freezer by horrified family

The body of a woman found in a freezer has now been identified and cops say she may have been missing or dead for up to nine years.

The body was discovered by family members of the person who currently lives in the home in San Diego. The people who made the gruesome discovery were from out of town and had been visiting the residence. The San Diego police homicide unit was called in to investigate because of the unusual location of the body, a police spokesperson said.

Cops identified the body as that of Mary Margaret Haxby-Jones, 81. The visiting family are related to someone who currently lives in the home and are not related to the woman found in the freezer, according to police. Cops added that the freezer was running when the body was found. The family called authorities as soon as they found the body in December.

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The body was found in a home in Zion Avenue, San Diego (NBC)

San Diego police Lieutenant Jud Campbell issued a statement saying: "Based on the investigation to this point, detectives believe it is possible that Haxby-Jones may have been missing or dead for up to nine years." They added that there had not been a missing person's report ever filed for Haxby-Jones.

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She is believed to have lived at the address on Zion Avenue "at some point prior to the discovery of her body", police said, but could shed no further light on when she was there. The also said that the cause of death was yet to be determined and that the medical examiner's office is investigating, adding that "no obvious traumatic injury to the body was noted".

The woman was found tucked away in a freezer that was still running (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Detectives are asking anyone who may have known Haxby-Jones or has any information about her to come forward. They say they will continue to investigate the case "as a suspicious death" in the meantime. Last month, police said the "out-of-town" family members called local authorities after finding the body in the running freezer at the address on Zion Avenue. Officers from Eastern Division responded to the address on Zion Avenue around 11:45 a.m. that day, police said.

At the time of the discovery, investigators believed the victim was a woman, but could not determine an age or race due to the level of decomposition. In December, it was also not clear if traumatic injuries were involved in the death and detectives noted the ‘unusual location’ of the body. "Detectives are continuing to gather information to understand what happened and why the body was inside the freezer", police said at the time.

Paul Donald