# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/41 "2016-01-13T14:02:06Z")
> [@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). I guess I found a person who didn’t watch Fried Green Tomatoes. The bar in the ground floor of my aunt’s house has had some, ah, issues with the law. Turns out the previous renter wasn’t doing very well and one of his cost-cutting ideas was stealing the electricity; he did it so clumsily a casual passerby who saw it reported it as a fire hazard (I haven’t seen pics, but considering some of the electrical work I have seen, it must have been something). Anyway, eventually the guy got evicted; neither the owner nor the rental agency bothered clean up the place. The new renter saw the equipment but didn’t think of opening the freezers and fridges (why oh why? Closed fridges can hold such lovely, multi-colored biotes! Why would you miss a chance to look at them and get a lower rent at the same time?). So, new guy gets the place, opens a fridge… and realizes that he. Probably. Should get some guys with Hazmat suits for the freezers. One of them was full to choking with what had been frozen crabs, scallops, barnacles and other shellfish. Worth in the six figures range, before they spoiled in place. Anyway. A common problem with fridges and freezers is the seal: often it goes bad, and it’s a relatively cheap repair that can give the machine several years for very little, but many people don’t know it. If the seal had given, the murderer hadn’t noticed, and then the motor broke while he was out of town… let’s say he’s the kind of people whose house gets gone over by a team to prepare it before he uses it… the prep team might find an unexpected puddle… (it wouldn’t even need to get to the “hazmat suits” point, if the door is vertical: the seafood guy’s freezers were all chests). ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/42 "2016-01-13T14:31:09Z")
The only criminals that actually get caught by anomalous electric bills are good-sized marijuana grow ops, the lights use a lot of power (or, more likely, show up as a giant glowing beacon through the roof if they’re flying a helicopter over at night and somebody glances at the IR camera). Though both of these have been somewhat reduced with modern low-power LED lighting. ---
**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 13, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/43 "2016-01-13T15:18:26Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I guess I found a person who didn’t watch Fried Green Tomatoes. \ **Nava** , dear, post 15. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/44 "2016-01-13T16:11:13Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > [“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. Roald Dahl had another short story which featured an exclusive restaurant that served a delectable meat periodically that was called “the special.” I don’t think Dahl ever came right out and said it but it was clear that “the special” was human flesh. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/45 "2016-01-13T16:22:05Z")
If you did kill someone and kept them constantly frozen at -18C or lower for 20 years, would the body once thawed be passable as a fresh corpse to someone with no medical expertise? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/46 "2016-01-13T16:52:15Z")
Freezer burn? What’s the significance of -18C? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/47 "2016-01-13T17:20:26Z")
Just move north of the Arctic circle. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/48 "2016-01-13T18:28:02Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > If you did kill someone and kept them constantly frozen at -18C or lower for 20 years, would the body once thawed be passable as a fresh corpse to someone with no medical expertise? It would all depend on how it was frozen. If you could flash freeze the body then the tissue damage would be smaller. But if the warm body was just placed in the freezer, as the body began to freeze from the outside in ice crystals would begin to form and they would damage the tissue. Also if the temp in the box varied much more ice crystals would form. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/49 "2016-01-13T20:32:17Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > If you did kill someone and kept them constantly frozen at -18C or lower for 20 years, would the body once thawed be passable as a fresh corpse to someone with no medical expertise? Not as _fresh_ to anyone with experience of meat (not necessarily human!); but I think it would be hard to tell whether it was 5 or 25 years old. After all, the famous [Ötzi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi)was initially thought to be the victim of a recent mountaineering accident… ---
**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 13, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/50 "2016-01-13T21:12:03Z")
Thanks, My Favorite Dopers!!! I don’t live in the wifi zone, and don’t have much time in it when I am able to escape my captors and slip inside. 😃 I shall save this discussion and devour it ravenously in the offline zone when I have time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/51 "2016-01-13T23:05:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > What’s the significance of -18C? That’s what my freezer runs at, so I just put that as a typical figure. ---
**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 13, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/52 "2016-01-13T23:40:34Z")
Richard Kuklinski aka The Iceman would routinely freeze bodies for say a year or two in order to throw off the assumed time of death after he disposed of the body. Authorities discovered one of the bodies that was not thawed properly, it had ice crystals in it on a hot spring day and knew something fishy was going on. ---
**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 14, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/53 "2016-01-14T02:43:05Z")
What, the poor stiff can’t have a gelato in July? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/54 "2016-01-14T03:48:41Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Need answer fast? Perhaps “need answer in 20 years” ? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/55 "2016-01-14T05:42:37Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > 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. If people who eat vegetables are vegetarian, does that make Jeffrey Dahmer a humanitarian? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/56 "2016-01-14T14:17:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Bolding mine. > > We see what you did there. I’ll ve here all ze veek! Actually it works better if you know some Danish. Kylling = chicken. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/57 "2016-01-14T14:36:29Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > I’ll ve here all ze veek! > > Actually it works better if you know some Danish. Kylling = chicken. That Danish bit does add some extra piquancy to the sauce; well done! Although both chicken & long pig are better served cooked more like medium. ---
**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 21, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845/58 "2016-01-21T01:04:08Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Richard Kuklinski aka The Iceman would routinely freeze bodies for say a year or two in order to throw off the assumed time of death after he disposed of the body. Authorities discovered one of the bodies that was not thawed properly, it had ice crystals in it on a hot spring day and knew something fishy was going on. Thanks! I shall google him, he sounds like he could be an inspirational figure for my murderer. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-kept-a-dead-body-in-a-freezer-for-20-years/742845.md?page=2)