Utah man dead in wife’s freezer for a decade left a note saying she wasn’t the killer

Officers found Paul Mathers in his wife’s Utah home in November after she died of natural causes, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. He was in her freezer and might have been there for 10 years.

Police were checking on Jean Souron-Mathers when they found her dead, and her husband’s body in the freezer, the Tribune reported.

Police also found a notarized note, signed by Paul, stating that his wife didn’t kill him, according to KSTU/Fox 13.. Authorities believe that Paul died sometime between Feb. 4 and March 8, 2009, Fox 13 reported.

The letter was notarized Dec. 2, 2008, according to Sgt. Jeremy Hansen from the Tooele Police Department, Fox 13 reported. “We believe he had a terminal illness,” he said. Paul

Detectives spoke to the person who notarized the letter, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. She told the police that she didn’t read the note before she signed and stamped it. A handwriting analysis hasn’t verified if it was Paul’s signature yet.

Paul had an appointment at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City on Feb. 4, 2009 and is believed to have died sometime between then and March 8, 2009, according to Deseret News.

Jeanne is believed to have collected around $177,000 in VA checks, according to detectives, Deseret News reported.

“I think he died and she kept him so she didn’t have to turn in his social security,” James Kite, a neighbor in the retirement community, told Fox 13. “It’s been crazy. I’ve never seen anything like what’s been going on here.”