'Badly decomposed' remains of elderly man found in refrigerator chained shut in garage — and police have arrested his son

Police made a gruesome find after getting a suspicious response during a welfare check in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this week.

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office said the family of a 76-year-old man asked for a welfare check after not hearing from him for several months.

'There’s some indicators the suspect had been living in the house with those remains and possibly cashing checks in the name of the victim.'

When officers went to the home Wednesday, a male claiming to be the elderly man told police through a Ring doorbell camera that he was fine. Police were suspicious about the interaction and played the audio to the elderly man's family.

Family members said the voice on the Ring camera "is not our father," Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.

The family was able to gain entry into the home, and a 48-year-old who spoke to officers came out. Deputies searched the home and found a refrigerator chained shut in the garage. After opening the refrigerator, officers found his father’s “badly decomposed” corpse inside, KSAT-TV said.

Police on Thursday arrested the elderly man's son, David Michael Gibson, and charged him with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse, a second-degree felony. The San Antonio Express-News reported that it’s unclear whether the son murdered his father or whether the elderly man died of natural causes.

“Family members are saying they have not heard from or seen their father in several months,” Salazar continued. “There’s some indicators the suspect had been living in the house with those remains and possibly cashing checks in the name of the victim.”

Gibson faces two to 20 years in prison if convicted of the felony charge. He was given a $250,000 bond.

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