Man accused of keeping dead father in freezer denied bail

By David Young, PA

A man accused of keeping his dead father in a freezer in the family home has been remanded in custody.

John Garrett O'Sullivan, 55, appeared before a judge in Londonderry Magistrates' Court on Monday morning charged with attempting to prevent the lawful burial of his father, 86-year-old Noel O'Sullivan.

The court heard that the pensioner's remains were found in the living room of the house on the Culmore Road in Derry wrapped in plastic sheeting and a duvet.

His head was placed inside an open fridge freezer while the rest of his body lay on the floor beside the open door of another freezer.

Deputy district judge Philip Mateer remanded John O'Sullivan in custody as he expressed concerns about the state of his mental health.

The accused, who is unemployed but has a PhD in electrical engineering, appeared via video-link from a police custody suite.

O'Sullivan, who lived at the family home on Culmore Road with his father, albeit at times residing in the garage, spoke briefly at the outset of the hearing to confirm his date of birth and that he understood the charge facing him.

He is accused of attempting to prevent the lawful and decent burial of his father on dates between July 1 and July 17.

Outlining the circumstances of the case, a detective constable told the court that officers received a report from one of Noel O'Sullivan's daughters on Wednesday July 17 expressing concern that she was unable to contact her father or gain entry to the house. On arrival, police forced entry.

"On entering the property, officers have reported that there was an odour of human remains," the officer told the judge.

"On entering the living room, police observed a duvet leading into a fridge freezer which was turned on and running with a second fridge freezer located next to it.

"Police began to remove the layers of duvet to reveal a plastic sheet. On removing this, human remains of Mr Noel O'Sullivan were located.

"The body of Mr Noel O'Sullivan appeared to be lying for some time. It was wrapped in clear tarpaulin plastic. There was an adult nappy on his head and hands. He was also wrapped in dry night bedding with a wet wipe type cloth inserted into his mouth.

"The deceased's head was placed into the fridge freezer and his body was surrounded by the open door of a second fridge."

John O'Sullivan was arrested later that day when he was found walking on the Culmore Road toward the house.

He was initially detained on suspicion of murder but later re-arrested on a charge of attempting to prevent a lawful burial.

The court heard that the results of a post-mortem examination on his father had been "inconclusive".

The court was told that the daughter who contacted police on July 17 normally lives in Brussels and that she last spoke to her father on July 1.

The judge was told she had difficulty accessing the home on previous occasions and had been in touch with police raising concerns about her father.

Police subsequently sent safeguarding referrals to social services in regard to the living conditions and the ability of Noel O'Sullivan to look after himself.

The court heard that his widow has dementia and is residing in a nursing home.

The officer told the judge that social services called at the house on July 10 in relation to Mrs O'Sullivan but had been unable to gain entry.

The detective constable said John O'Sullivan gave an account to officers that he had found his father drinking and "ranting and raving" in the living room of the house in the early hours of July 7.

He claimed that his father was, at times, having difficulty breathing but was also being abusive toward him.

He said he left the room due to the abuse being directed at him and went to bed and, when he returned in the late afternoon of the same day, he found his father dead.

"On the death of his father, he described that he did not contact the authorities as it was a bank holiday weekend," said the officer.

"He stated that he told his mother that his father had died. However, Mrs O'Sullivan is currently in Rush Hall nursing home and is being treated for dementia.

"He stated he did research as to what the procedure for sudden death was and, in the meantime, he refrigerated his father, as this is what Altnagelivn (the hospital in Derry) would do.

"He felt there was no point in ringing a GP as he was dead, and he confirmed that he did not tell anyone else of the death of his father."

The officer told the court that O'Sullivan later told a police custody nurse that his father died on July 8 following a "collapse episode".

"He stated that he wanted his father to be kept in the house to preserve his privacy and dignity," said the detective constable.

"And he felt that if he rang the ambulance his father would have been put in a fridge in Altnagelvin, so he decided to preserve his father's body himself using fridges.

"He told the nurse that he would exercise his father's limbs as he had heard from other people that undertakers would break his bones to put them into the coffin."

In further details outlined to the court, the officer said O'Sullivan attended a GP practice on July 10 inquiring on what to do in the event of a sudden death.

She said he also spoke with staff at a parochial house at a church in Buncrana, Co Donegal, on July 4 and asked if a priest and undertaker were necessary if he was to bury his mother in the parish.

"He implied to the staff that he would like to bury his mother himself in the night, but he was told that this was not allowed," the officer told the judge.

The officer said it was not believed that the accused's mother is "anywhere near to death".

She added: "Police query whether he was asking these questions with the knowledge that his father had died."

The officer objected to bail on the grounds of the accused having no suitable address to reside in and that he could flee the jurisdiction to Co Donegal.

She also raised concerns about O'Sullivan's mental health. The court heard he had an episode of psychosis in 2010 but had been living in the community without incident since then. The accused also has no criminal record, the judge was told.

A defence solicitor said he had raised concerns that, upon arrest, his client should have been held in a hospital setting, rather than a custodial one.

He acknowledged there currently was not a suitable bail address but suggested the judge should consider releasing him from custody if such an address could be agreed with police.

The judge said it was "distressing case for the family" and "an unusual case for the court to deal with".

Refusing the bail application, deputy district judge Mateer said a primary concern was the lack of suitable address.

He also raised concern about the accused's state of mind.

"I just don't believe it would be appropriate to take a decision releasing him into the community without some sort of proof that it would be safe to do so," he added.

O'Sullivan was remanded into custody to appear before the same court, via video-link, on August 15.