MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (WLNS) — A Monday search of a home in Isabella County, revealed the dead body of a woman that had been kept in a freezer for months.

According to media partner MLive, Terrell L. York, 54, appeared in court Wednesday for his arraignment on a count of failure to report the death of his wife, 67-year-old Patricia L. York.

The Isabella County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the woman’s daughter, who said that she had not been in touch with her mom for the past few years after a falling out.

Court documents obtained by MLive reported that the daughter, who lives in North Dakota, said that her mother had Alzheimer’s and she was concerned about her mom’s well-being.

When deputies first came to the woman’s home, they were met by Terrell York.

As it turns out, York was arrested on an outstanding, unrelated warrant.

While being interviewed in jail, York said that his wife has left him the in 2022, packing up her things and taking the couple’s SUV.

He said his wife returned the SUV and that he had seen her between three to four weeks before being interviewed by deputies.

York also could not give officials an new address to reach the his wife at, and he denied police entry into his home.

Deputies spoke with the Yorks’ landlord who said he had not seen Patricia for a year and a half, when Patricia had been diagnosed with cancer. Terrell York had been bringing in rent payments since then.

The landlord was not aware that Patricia L. York had “moved out.”

During the Monday search, officials found Patricia L. York’s dead body in a chest freezer in the kitchen. She was partially frozen and wrapped in a blanket.

Deputies noted that the home did not have power, and that it was dirty, with animal feces covering the floors.

Upon re-interviewing Terrell York, he admitted that his wife died from natural causes on Sept. 13, 2022. He said the reason he did not report his wife’s death because he was scared because she was “so sick” before she died.

Mr. York also was collecting his late wife’s Social Security payments, as he did not notify the Social Security Administration of his wife’s death.

Deputies said that he spent his wife’s payments on food and bills.

An autopsy done on Patricia York revealed that there was no evidence of foul play, but toxicology results are still pending before the cause and manner of death can be declared.

As for Terrell York, his preliminary examination date is scheduled for May 4 at 11 a.m.