New Alabama homeowners find dead 19-year-old man in backyard freezer, teen's parents arrested

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Oct 31

The new owners of an Alabama house found a dead 19-year-old man stuffed inside a freezer in their backyard – leading to the arrest of the teen's parents, authorities said.

The owners were cleaning up the property on Sunday morning when they stumbled upon the old appliance concealing the badly decomposed body of Logan Michael Halstead, the Henry County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.

Because the freezer was too heavy to lift, the owners began cleaning it out when they discovered a human hand, Sheriff Eric Blankenship told AL.com.

The teen's family had rented out the home, but moved away more than a month ago before the property owner sold it, Blankenship reportedly said.

Halstead's parents, Michael Shane Halstead, 44, and Karen Tysinger Halstead, 43, were arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse. They are being held in jail without bond.

"This incident is a very tragic situation and our agency is committed to finding out the truth," the sheriff said in a statement.

"The investigation is still on going and information will continue to be released as the case progresses."

Logan Halstead suffered from medical issues, including spina bifida, WTVY reported.

Blankenship told the station the father claimed he suffered a manic episode and didn't remember how his son's body got inside the non-working freezer.

He also claimed his wife was not involved, the sheriff said.

In another odd twist, Michael Halstead allegedly told authorities from another police department about his son's abandoned remains earlier this month, but officers couldn't locate the body when they searched, sources told WTVY.