NY Woman Found In Freezer Died Of Natural Causes

Police in upstate New York say an elderly woman whose body was found in her son's freezer died of cardiac arrest.

Investigators believe Herta Auslander's son, Roland Auslander, kept her body in the freezer for more than a year as he continued to collect her Social Security checks. An autopsy conducted Saturday at a Binghamton hospital confirmed she died of natural causes.

State police say they discovered the body Wednesday after her 70-year-old son's lawyer contacted them and said the woman had died in April 2007. They say the woman was born in August 1908, meaning she was 98 at the time of her death if the lawyer's account is accurate.

State Police Lt. James Barnes says the son is cooperating, and no charges had been filed against him as of Saturday afternoon.