00:00You were the adult son of the deceased and lived with her.
00:03She was an elderly woman who had been a frequent patient of her GP practice.
00:08The last confirmed contact between your mother and medical professionals was in September 2022.
00:16Your mother died on the 8th of March 2023.
00:20Rather than notify the authorities and make arrangements for her lawful burial,
00:24you purchased a chest freezer on the 10th of March and concealed her body within it.
00:30You continued to collect her prescriptions and misled medical professionals about her whereabouts,
00:36lying when inquiries were made about your mother,
00:41repeatedly telling medical staff that she did not wish to attend appointments or to undergo tests.
00:47Your mother's pension and benefits continued to be paid into her bank accounts,
00:52which you were able to access.
00:54When concerns grew about the absence of any contact with your mother,
00:58the medical practice asked the police to carry out a welfare check.
01:02Although your mother suffered the indignity of being stored in a chest freezer for three years,
01:07there were no other indignities following her death.
01:09There is no information about any impact on any other family members or friends of your mother.
01:16The suggested starting point in the King and Russell is a sentence of about three years
01:20before other aggravating and mitigating features and before discount for a guilty plea.
01:26Your offending is aggravated by the length of time over which you concealed your mother's death
01:30and because you had the financial advantage of continuing to receive her pension and benefits.
01:35Furthermore, there was a cost to the NHS for the prescriptions that you continued to collect for nearly three years.
01:41The psychiatrist concludes that at the time of the offending, you were suffering from a recognised mental disorder,
01:46namely prolonged grief disorder, which developed following your mother's death.
01:51He considers that this condition provides an explanation for your behaviour.
01:56He records evidence of persistent longing for your mother, difficulty accepting her death,
02:01preoccupation with her, social withdrawal and an inability to move forward with ordinary life.
02:07He also notes what he describes as a dependent relationship between you and your mother.
02:14On count one, preventing a lawful and decent burial and uplifted to reflect the totality of your offending,
02:20had you been convicted after a trial, taking account of all the aggravating and mitigating factors,
02:25the least sentence would have been three years and six months' imprisonment.
02:29Applying one third discount for your guilty plea, the sentence is two years, four months' imprisonment.
02:36On count two, the least sentence after a trial would have been 12 months' imprisonment.
02:40Applying one third discount for your guilty plea, the sentence is eight months' imprisonment concurrent.
02:46On count three, the least sentence would have been six months' imprisonment.
02:50Applying one third discount for your guilty plea, the sentence is four months' imprisonment concurrent.
02:55That means that the total sentence is two years, four months imprisonment.
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