Carer, 53, jailed after he stored pal’s physique in freezer for 2 years

A carer who hid the physique of the pensioner he lived with in a freezer for 2 years as a result of he was ‘overcome with grief’ was jailed this afternoon for 2 years.

Damion Johnson, 52, hid the physique of John Wainwright in a chest freezer he ordered on-line and had delivered to the tower block the place they lived, a decide was informed.

A court docket heard the pair had a ‘father-and-son relationship’, with Johnson telling buddies and family the 71-year-old had died both ‘in hospital’ or ‘in mattress’, and that the funeral had already been held.

But in actuality the physique of former council supervisor Mr Wainwright lay ‘hunched’ within the 2ftX3ft freezer within the visitor bed room of the housing affiliation flat in central Birmingham – and Johnson by no means sought to acquire a dying certificates or inform the authorities of his passing.

Associates of each Johnson and Mr Wainwright have informed the Mail that Johnson and Mr Wainwright had been in a long-term homosexual relationship, though no reference was made to this in court docket.

Derby Crown Court heard Mr Wainwright’s decomposing stays had been solely found in August 2020 when the freezer was taken to a recycling centre when the flat was lastly cleared.

Prosecutor Darron Whitehead mentioned the sports-car driving pensioner is believed to have died, and been positioned within the freezer, in September 2018.

But regardless of a succession of visits to the flat by varied officers, together with police, within the intervening months for plenty of totally different causes, the equipment was not opened till it reached the recycling centre. There to the ‘horror’ of a employee, Mr Wainwright’s physique was discovered ‘curled up in a ball’ tucked beneath a bin liner.

Johnson, who the court docket heard has psychological well being difficulties, informed police he had put the physique within the freezer after feeling unable to half with the physique or report the dying.

Mr Whitehead mentioned a put up mortem examination on the physique discovered Mr Wainwright had sustained neck fractures and had 5 lacking enamel, which might be indicators of ‘blunt drive trauma to the mouth’. But he mentioned ‘vital pure illness’ couldn’t be excluded because of the decomposition of the physique.

Darron Whitehead, prosecuting, mentioned the defendant and sufferer took on the tenancy for the nineteenth flooring flat in Cleveland Tower in 2015, with Johnson performing has his carer.

The court docket heard Johnson efficiently utilized for carers allowance in October that yr, claiming to be Mr Wainwright’s son, as a result of the pensioner had mobility points after struggling two strokes – and continued claiming it till the physique was found.

The court docket heard he fraudulently obtained £19,000 in whole, having additionally continued to make use of Mr Wainwright’s debit card for procuring journeys and to withdraw cash, and in addition make money transfers.

An in depth pal continued to go to the flat till December 2019, and even stayed over –sleeping in the identical room because the freezer containing Mr Wainwright’s physique. But the pal, who informed police he had final seen Mr Wainwright in August 2018, mentioned he had by no means opened the chest.

The court docket heard that in October 2019 the housing affiliation wrote to Johnson over a water leak being suffered by the flat under, however he claimed he couldn’t assist kind out a restore as a result of he was coping with his ‘father’ being in hospital. He finally informed the housing affiliation his father had died, however failed to produce the requested dying certificates.

Mr Whitehead mentioned Johnson was arrested on an unrelated matter in December 2019 however the court docket heard that though police visited the flat, they didn’t search it.

Johnson went on to maneuver in together with his brother, and the flat ended up being boarded up, with the freezer and a few of his different possessions remaining inside. They weren’t checked for nearly one other yr.

The prosecutor mentioned throughout that point a neighbour reported ‘a horrendous scent’ coming from the property and that, in August 2020, a gasoline engineer went to hold out checks and reported the identical difficulty.

The identical month, a removals agency was known as in to clear the flat, however though one of many elimination males was nearly sick on account of the scent, they did not open the unplugged freezer both, assuming decomposing meals was inside.

The court docket heard the equipment was solely opened when it was dropped off at a skip and recycling centre in Exhall, close to Coventry. Police had been then known as.

Johnson was arrested and informed officers he didn’t report Mr Wainwright’s dying as a result of he had been overcome with grief. He mentioned he put the pensioner’s physique within the freezer as a result of he was ‘not able to say goodbye’.

He informed officers he had recognized Mr Wainwright for 27 years and noticed him as a father determine. He mentioned Mr Wainwright had dementia, however that no prognosis had been obtained.

Johnson pleaded responsible to stopping the lawful and respectable burial of a useless physique between September 1, 2018 and August 22, 2020 and three counts of fraud in relation to spending and withdrawing cash on Mr Wainwright’s debit card, and financial institution transfers from his account.

Raglan Ashton, mitigating, mentioned Johnson had labored as a carer and had paid his wage into the deceased account, with it performing as a ‘joint’ facility.

Jailing Johnson, now of Derby, for 2 years, Judge Shaun Smith KC mentioned stopping a burial was an ‘uncommon offence’ however that he was ‘not suggesting in any respect’ that the defendant had any involvement in Mr Wainwright’s dying.

But he mentioned it was ‘an offence which is a critical affront to public requirements of decency’, including: ‘You and Mr Wainwright lived in an abnormal and nice relationship.

‘He handed away and had you gone about this in a traditional manner he would have had a very good and respectable burial. But that is not what you probably did. You purchased a chest freezer, that was a deliberate act and also you knew what you had been going to do.

‘You put him in there in 2018 and also you left him there…and through that point you had been serving to your self to his cash.’

Mr Wainwright grew up in Coventry, the place he labored as a supervisor for a neighborhood warden scheme run by the town council.

A pal mentioned he was recognized for his fastidious gown sense and was ‘a likeable man, highly regarded’.

After retiring, the classical music fanatic moved to the flat with Johnson in a Birmingham tower block on the sting of the town’s Gay Village.

The pal added: ‘I final spoke to John in July 2018. He was in good well being so far as I knew. We had been shocked and upset after we discovered he had handed away.’

A former flatmate of Johnson’s in Derby mentioned: ‘As far as I do know, Damion and John had been going out with one another for 25 years they usually had been dwelling with one another in Birmingham.

‘Damion informed me they’d a joint checking account collectively. He by no means informed me he was useless. I did not know that till all of it went to court docket.

‘From what I can recall, he mentioned that John was a council employee however he was retired.’