The Texas man who stuffed his father’s body into a refrigerator and then closed it shut with a chain pleaded guilty and is headed to prison.

David Michael Gibson, aged 49, has pleaded guilty to charges of tampering with evidence aimed at compromising a human corpse, as per court records. On Wednesday, he was handed a 10-year prison sentence by a judge. During a welfare check, authorities discovered the “badly decomposed” body of Gibson’s father, Daniel Gibson, inside a refrigerator in the garage. However, an autopsy was unable to determine the cause or manner of death.

The Gibson family lambasted the defendant at sentencing, according to a courtroom report from local ABC affiliate KSAT.

“To disrespect him by placing him in a freezer and not telling anybody — you have no family anymore, you are on your own,” said Matthew Gibson, the son of the victim and the brother of the accused.

Previously reported by Law&Crime, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar stated that deputies responded on August 8, 2024, to a house on the 7500 block of Rustic Trail, where they began speaking with a man who claimed to be the person they were searching for.

“However, the deputy sensed it wasn’t him,” Salazar explained. “Later, he managed to contact some family members who confirmed, ‘That voice on that Ring camera is not our father.'”

The family assisted deputies in gaining access to the home, where David Gibson was located. During their search, deputies noticed a refrigerator in the garage that seemed “suspicious in nature,” as described by Salazar. It appeared to be secured with a chain, according to Salazar. Upon opening the fridge, deputies discovered human remains, Salazar mentioned.

According to San Antonio CBS affiliate KENS, family members reported that upon opening the fridge door, they were confronted with a human head and quickly shut it. The deputies then evacuated everyone from the house to set up a crime scene.

The family told police they hadn’t heard from or seen the victim in months and there were some “indicators” that David Gibson had been living with the remains for quite some time, Salazar said. Gibson was allegedly cashing checks from his father’s Social Security and military pension. The victim also apparently hadn’t refilled his prescriptions for a while.

Gibson will have to serve at least five years of his sentence before he will be eligible for parole.