Husband Forced Friend At Gunpoint To Move Wife's Body Into Freezer: Reports

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man suspected of putting his wife's body in a freezer in their San Diego home held a friend at gunpoint to help him move the body and keep her death a secret, according to an autopsy report unsealed Thursday.

Police disclosed last week that they believed Mary Haxby-Jones' husband, Robert Haxby, put his wife's body in the freezer. Haxby himself died Feb. 3, 2024, according to the San Diego Police Department.

According to multiple reports, a newly obtained autopsy report revealed that Haxby contacted an unnamed friend about nine years ago after his wife died presumably from natural causes at roughly 72 years old. Haxby forced his friend at gunpoint to help him in put his wife's body inside the freezer, 10 News reported.

The friend kept her death a secret until Haxby suffered a stroke in December 2023, NBC 7 reported. Investigators suspected Haxby put her body in the freezer to hide her death and continue collecting her Social Security benefits.

Relatives visiting from out of town discovered Haxby-Jones' body inside of a chest-style freezer at the home in the 4900 block of Zion Avenue on Dec. 22, 2023, according to police. Her body showed no signs of suspicious injuries.

In an autopsy report recently completed by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office, Haxby-Jones' manner and cause of death were recorded as undetermined.

"At this point, based on the medical examiner's conclusions and the investigative work performed by (police) detectives, the suspicious-death investigation is inactive pending any additional or new information brought forward," SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell said last week.

Also see:

• Woman Found Dead In San Diego Freezer Identified
• Allied Gardens Freezer-Body Investigation Shelved

City News Service contributed to this report.