# If you kept a dead body in a freezer for 20 years... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845 "2016-01-11T20:21:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/1 "2016-01-11T20:21:25Z")
Hello says the Mystery Writer, _waves a bloody shovel merrily about_ how are all you fine folks today? Let’s say you murdered somebody and you didn’t want to bury them in the backyard with all the others, letting her get all smelly and rotten and stuff. So you made a nice bed of ice and packed her inside the new chest freezer you bought on sale at Lowes. Then you sealed up the room, so no one would find your treasure and made your exits and entrances through the dumbwaiter. How much would your power bill go up with having this secret freezer constantly running? Could a household member or servant discover your secret via the mysteriously high electric bill? ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/2 "2016-01-11T20:34:24Z")
Every major appliance comes with an energy efficiency sticker on it with its estimated annual cost to run. The [first](http://pdf.lowes.com/energyguides/883049355214.pdf) one I pulled off of Lowes’ website says a 15 cf chest freezer cost $36 per year to run. So I doubt someone would notice a $3 per month increase on their electricity bill. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/3 "2016-01-11T20:34:29Z")
Need answer fast? Your typical chest freezer isn’t going to draw much more power than a typical refrigerator, so we’re talking maybe $10 to $15 per month on your electric bill. There’s a bit of variability based on how easily heat transfers out of the room where the freezer is and how warm or cold that room is in general and what the cost of electricity is in your area and stuff like that, but $10 to $15 is probably in the right ballpark for most folks. Hunters pack deer meet in freezers and use it all year round, and they don’t complain much about their electricity bills. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/4 "2016-01-11T20:36:43Z")
C’mon man how are you supposed to make love to the body if it’s frozen? Your dick will get freezer burn! If it’s a plot device it would probably be better if the freezer tripped the circuit breaker or something and stopped running and the killer thought they were gold but the body started decomposing and the smell went up the dumb waiter although I wonder if the aroma would escape the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/5 "2016-01-11T20:36:56Z")
Ah ha, we were just chest freezer shopping and, at least for our particular $/kWH and such, the one we bought costs us about an extra $30 a year in electricity. It’s a pretty big one; we’ve got meat from half a bull elk in it. Although part of our decision to buy a new one instead of just grabbing one off Craigslist was that new chest freezers are way more efficient than the old ones. Maybe the twist could be that the 20 year old freezer breaks and when the murderer replaces it with a new one, the servants notice the power bill has become much lower! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/6 "2016-01-11T20:37:55Z")
The freezer burn is going to be _fierce._ ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/7 "2016-01-11T20:40:56Z")
> [@TheMysteryWriter](#): > > How much would your power bill go up with having this secret freezer constantly running? Could a household member or servant discover your secret via the mysteriously high electric bill? I would ask the salesperson at the freezer dealership this exact question and provide as many details as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/8 "2016-01-11T20:43:56Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Ah ha, we were just chest freezer shopping and, at least for our particular $/kWH and such, the one we bought costs us about an extra $30 a year in electricity. It’s a pretty big one; we’ve got meat from half a bull elk in it. Although part of our decision to buy a new one instead of just grabbing one off Craigslist was that new chest freezers are way more efficient than the old ones. Maybe the twist could be that the 20 year old freezer breaks and when the murderer replaces it with a new one, the servants notice the power bill has become much lower! Thanks! I like that idea. 😃 Or maybe the poor blokes allowance has been cut so he has to buy an old replacement freezer from Craigslist, that makes it higher. Either way, the replacement idea makes the most sense. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/9 "2016-01-11T20:44:49Z")
This is Stephen King disgusting: There was a short story years ago where the murderer fed the murder weapon–a leg of mutton, or some such–to the investigating cops. Serve your frozen corpse to company (an arm and a leg 😃 at a time) until all gone (Here’s where the BBQ experts jump in with tips). ---
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/10 "2016-01-11T20:50:37Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > This is Stephen King disgusting: > > There was a short story years ago where the murderer fed the murder weapon–a leg of mutton, or some such–to the investigating cops. Serve your frozen corpse to company (an arm and a leg 😃 at a time) until all gone (Here’s where the BBQ experts jump in with tips). Ooh! That’s a possibility, if he is so poor he can’t afford a new freezer, right away, and its the middle of the summer. He may just plan a surprise barbecue for all his friends. Poor friends! ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/11 "2016-01-11T20:58:16Z")
This is exactly what [Bernie Tiede](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Tiede) did. The body was found 9 months later. ---
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/12 "2016-01-11T21:10:57Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > This is exactly what [Bernie Tiede](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Tiede) did. The body was found 9 months later. Thanks for the link! 😃 I have quite a bit on cannibals, already, but I don’t think I’ve run across him yet in searches. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/13 "2016-01-11T21:17:21Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > This is Stephen King disgusting: > > There was a short story years ago where the murderer fed the murder weapon–a leg of mutton, or some such–to the investigating cops. Serve your frozen corpse to company (an arm and a leg 😃 at a time) until all gone (Here’s where the BBQ experts jump in with tips). Roald Dahl, “[Lamb to the Slaughter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_to_the_Slaughter)”. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/14 "2016-01-11T21:22:49Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > This is Stephen King disgusting: > > There was a short story years ago where the murderer fed the murder weapon–a leg of mutton, or some such–to the investigating cops. Serve your frozen corpse to company (an arm and a leg 😃 at a time) until all gone (Here’s where the BBQ experts jump in with tips). [“Lamb to the Slaughter”](http://www.depa.univ-paris8.fr/IMG/pdf/lamb_to_the_slaughter_by_roald_dahl-2.pdf). By _Roald Dahl_, of all people, who had a penchant for the sick before he started all that stuff about giant peaches. Also, serving them roasted would be a little to obvious, I think - it’d be better to prepare them in a way that doesn’t preserve the form. I’m thinking a nice chili, Scott Tenorman style. ETA: Ninja’d, I see! On the Dahl, that is. Being the second in a thread to suggest human chili would make me a little nervous . . . ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/15 "2016-01-11T21:26:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Roald Dahl, “[Lamb to the Slaughter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_to_the_Slaughter)”. Thanks, **Dewey** , I’ll slip you a fin next time I see ya! Actually, my idea came from “Fried Green Tomatoes.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/16 "2016-01-11T21:27:50Z")
If you’re going to keep a body frozen economically, do _not_ do what [this guy](http://murderpedia.org/male.F/f/famalaro-john.htm) did - keep the freezer in a stolen Ryder truck in your driveway for three years, powered by an extension cord from the house. In Arizona. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/17 "2016-01-11T21:27:51Z")
Meat pies? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/18 "2016-01-11T21:49:54Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > I would ask the salesperson at the freezer dealership this exact question and provide as many details as possible. That would be so awesome. Ask the saleslady to get inside, as a point of comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/19 "2016-01-11T22:12:15Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > There was a short story years ago where the murderer fed the murder weapon–a leg of mutton, or some such–to the investigating cops. Serve your frozen corpse to company (an arm and a leg 😃 at a time) until all gone (Here’s where the BBQ experts jump in with tips). They’ve done that in an episode of _Sons of Anarchy_ and an episode of _Criminal Minds_ too. Reminds me of a joke that was going around after the Waco incident: Q. Have you heard that Jeffrey Dahmer escaped from prison? A. He was last seen headed for Waco with a bottle of BBQ sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/20 "2016-01-11T22:18:47Z")
> [@pool](#): > > C’mon man how are you supposed to make love to the body if it’s frozen? Your dick will get freezer burn! I know of at least one person who solved this problem by using hot light bulbs to warm up the hole. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845.md?page=2)