an elderly woman has been questioned by police after allegedly keeping her mother's body in a freezer for up to two decades, it emerged today. police found the body wrapped in a black bin liner in a chest freezer at a semi-detached house in sidcup, south-east london.
officers interviewed daulat irani, 83, under caution after the body was discovered and identified as that of her mother gulbai freedoon murzan, who was born in 1901. police believe she may have been dead for up to 20 years.
metropolitan police said the death was being treated as unexplained, rather than suspicious. postmortem results are expected later this week.
it is understood that officers were called to the property in park mead on 10 may after being alerted by a neighbour, and forensic officers removed the corpse.
it is unclear why the body was kept in the freezer, but neighbours of the elderly woman suggested she may have been worried that immigration authorities would discover her mother had been living illegally in the uk.
a neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said irani was a "very private person" who kept her garden in pristine condition. "obviously it was shocking when the police came and told me what happened. they said they believed she had been in the freezer for more than 20 years," the neighbour told the daily mirror.
"i think it was an immigration thing because her mum was illegal and they didn't want anyone to know."
ray dyson, 77, who lives nearby, said irani was a "nice old lady" who went quietly about her business. "this has all come as a bit of a shock. the first we knew was when two police cars and an officer in a full forensic bodysuit turned up. they taped off the garage and have now put a padlock on it."
another neighbour believed irani had confided in a friend, who had passed on the information to police. "i saw her after the police visited and she told me they questioned her for hours. i told her it wasn't surprising considering what they had found. she said the police were going to contact her again soon."
a police spokesman said: "we can confirm that we went to a residential address in sidcup. officers found the body of a woman. we believe we know the identity but await formal identification. the death is being treated as unexplained. an 83-year-old woman has been interviewed under caution but there have been no arrests."
今日，一名老妇据说因将其母亲的尸体冷藏20多年而受到警方的问询。警方在其位于伦敦东南sidcup的半独立式住房中发现了尸体，尸体被包裹在冰箱里的一个黑色垃圾袋中。
经过识别，那是她的母亲gulbai freedoon murzan，生于1901年，去世至少20年了。之后，这名83岁的老妇daulet irani受到警方的训诫，并接受了警官的问询。
伦敦警方称，这起死亡事件被视作死而未报——而不是嫌疑谋杀——来处理。尸检结果将在本周晚些时候公布。
5月10日，在接到邻居的报警后，当地警察赶到了这处位于mead公园的房产，法警移走了尸体。
目前尚不清楚为何irani会将尸体藏在冰箱内，她的邻居猜测，可能是由于irani担心移民局发现她的母亲是个非法移民。
一位不愿意透露姓名的邻居说，irani是一个很内敛的人，她的花园风格也质朴清新。“当警察赶来并告诉我发生了什么的时候，我真是感觉非常的惊讶。他们说尸体已经在冰箱里保存超过20年了。”这位邻居这样告诉《镜报》。
“我认为这是一起移民事件，她的妈妈是非法移民，而她俩都不希望任何人知道。”
住在附近的77岁的ray dyson说，irani是一个“很好的老太太”，处事很低调。“这一切真让人震惊。直到两辆警车和一个全套法院行头的警官出现，我们才得知了这件事。他们先用警戒带封锁整个车库，现在又把它锁了起来。”
另一位邻居认为irani曾向一位朋友吐露这一秘密，可惜的是这位朋友很不仗义地报了警。“在警察来访后我见了她，她告诉我警察问询了她数个小时。我告诉她，这没什么，毕竟警察的发现非同寻常。她说警察很快还要与她联系。”
一位警方发言人称：“事件发生在sidcup的一间住宅中，警官们发现了一具女性尸体。我们能够辨明死者身份，但仍要等待正式的鉴定结果。这起死亡事件被界定为死而未报。一名83岁的老妇接受了问询和训诫，不过并未被逮捕。”
点击查看更多双语阅读