Tooele man found in freezer had been on ice for a decade, police say

A Tooele man had been dead in his wife’s freezer for more than 10 years, police have found.

Investigators sorting through information about Paul Edward Mathers have determined that no one had seen him since early 2009, Sgt. Jeremy Hansen of the Tooele City Police Department said Thursday.

A medical examiner previously determined that Mathers could have been in the freezer of a Tooele apartment anywhere between 18 months and 11 years.

Mathers’ body was found in the freezer at the Remington Park Apartments, at 495 W. Utah Ave in Tooele, on Nov. 22. Police went to the apartment when a maintenance worker had not heard from the tenant, a 75-year-old woman, for some time. Police then found the woman, Jeanne Souron-Mathers, had died.

Paul Mathers would have been 58 when he was put in the freezer. Medical examiners and the state’s crime lab identified Mathers by his fingerprints. No cause of death has been determined.

Hansen said investigators have sent subpoenas to financial institutions, to find out whether Souron-Mathers had been collecting any benefits being sent to her husband. Police have also subpoenaed Mathers’ medical records to learn about any health issues he may have suffered before his death — which could help determine whether he died of natural causes or as the result of foul play.