Karachi siblings kept mother's body in freezer for over a decade to 'see her at will'

KARACHI: Two siblings reportedly kept their late mother's body in a deep freezer for over a decade here in the metropolis' Gulshan-e-Iqbal locality so that they could continue to "see her at will", police said, adding that they have taken the deceased's brother — Murad* — into custody.

Police said only skeletal remains were what was left of the body of the woman, who was identified as Zahabia*. Her son and daughter had not buried her after her death more than 10-12 years ago and, instead, kept it in the deep freezer so that they could "see her at will", they added.

According to police officials, when the brother-sister duo also died, Murad — Zahabia's brother who was later taken into police custody — started upkeep of the body. Last night, he retrieved the body from the freezer and threw it away in a garbage dump. His actions, however, were caught on a CCTV camera, the footage of which was obtained by police.

Murad told police in his initial statement that Zahabia's daughter had died four months ago but he had found his sister's body on the bed when he went to her house two days ago. Zahabia suffered from some mental illness as well, he added.

Police confirmed later that the body was sent for post-mortem and Murad, the brother, taken into custody, following which an investigation was initiated. The late woman's flat was abandoned for quite some time after her son and daughter died, they added.

*Names changed to protect identities