The ear in the freezer, or why interfering with a corpse is a bad idea

The act of interfering with a corpse by severing an ear and keeping it in the freezer was at the centre of a recent court battle over inheritance. The ear was secretly cut off the corpse before the funeral by the dead man’s brother, who hoped to prove the deceased did not have a biological child.

Use of DNA in inheritance disputes

The unusual recent case in the NSW Supreme Court shows how DNA is being used increasingly in arguments over who should inherit an estate, particularly when there is no will. (Please see Contested proceedings, Supreme Court of NSW, 30 March 2025.)

Under the NSW Succession Act 2006, when a person dies without leaving a will, the first person who stands to inherit is the spouse, then the children. (Please see Chapter 7: Procedure on death if there is no will, Rest assured: a legal guide to wills, estates, planning ahead and funerals in NSW.)

In this case there was no spouse or de facto to inherit, but there was a son. By severing the ear and keeping it, the brother of the deceased hoped to obtain DNA evidence to prove that the person believed to be his brother’s son was not the biological child of the dead man. (Please see The Estate of Jian Ming Li [2025] NSWSC 907.)

Interfering with a corpse in an attempt to disprove paternity

Under succession law, if there is no will, no spouse and no children, the estate would have gone to the mother, then siblings. At stake was a million-dollar property.

The court heard the brother reached into the coffin and cut off part of his dead brother’s ear before the coffin was sealed and the body cremated. The brother kept the ear sample in a glass jar in his freezer for more than a year.

But when the brother contested the inheritance, the frozen ear was revealed to police. The brother pleaded guilty to interfering with a corpse and was fined $1500.

In earlier proceedings, the son had agreed to familial DNA testing with samples from the deceased’s relatives. The court heard the familial tests found a 99.9 per cent probability he was the biological son of the deceased.

The brother then applied to the Supreme Court, seeking an order that the police return the frozen ear to him. Justice Michael Slattery said it was not clear why the brother wanted the ear, but it was possibly for DNA testing, to dispute paternity by challenging the earlier familial DNA test.

The ear was obtained illegally, so it was unlikely to be used in court to challenge the earlier decision that there was a biological son.

DNA testing can establish biological heirs in inheritance disputes

The court dismissed the brother’s application for the return of the ear, but the case highlights how DNA testing is becoming increasingly important in inheritance disputes.

Secretly cutting an ear off a deceased person in their coffin is certainly not the way to go about it. The usual method is to take a hair sample or mouth swab from living relatives after obtaining the relative’s consent.

DNA testing can establish the biological heirs to an estate when there is a dispute. If there are doubts about a person’s right to inherit an estate, it would be wise to seek legal advice early. (Please see DNA – An Overview of Testing and the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000, The Public Defenders, 15 November 2024.)

The huge increase in property values has led to a rapid rise in filings of disputed wills in the NSW Supreme Court’s succession and probate list. Between 2020 and 2024 the number of matters filed rose from 1,170 to 1,460. Many of these involved DNA testing.

Justine Cavanagh

Criminal and traffic law

Stacks Collins Thompson

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