A British man has admitted to keeping the dead body of a pensioner for two years in a freezer, according to The Metro.
The news outlet reported that John Wainwright, 71, died in September 2018, but his body was only discovered on August 22, 2020, after it had been kept in a freezer. Damion Johnson, 52, pleaded guilty to a charge of preventing the lawful and decent burial of Wainwright on Tuesday.
However, Damion Johnson is also accused of using the bank details of a dead pensioner to go shopping and withdraw cash. But he denied three counts of fraud, arguing that the money he had used from Mr. Wainwright's account was technically his.
Although Mr. Wainwright's cause of death has not yet been determined, it is thought that the crime took place when the two were residing in a flat in Birmingham's downtown Cleveland Tower, Holywell Head.
According to The Independent, "But the 52-year-old denied three counts of fraud by false representation concerning using Mr Wainwright's bank card to withdraw money from cash machines, pay for goods, and transfer money to his own account between September 23, 2018 and May 7, 2020."
Judge Shaun Smith KC told Johnson he would face trial on November 7.
When asked by the judge what Johnson's defence will be, Raglan Ashton, mitigating, said: "He says he was not acting dishonestly, namely that he maintains that he was entitled to the funds in Mr. Wainwright's account.
"The arrangement was that monies would be paid jointly into Mr. Wainwright's account, so essentially he maintains that it was his funds in Mr Wainwright's account, and in short, he was entitled to them."
Damion Johnson is free on bail.
