A MAN has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after he left his dead son’s body to rot for two days in his filthy mobile home.

Theodore Antonsen, 9, was found decomposing on a couch surrounded by dirty diapers and jugs filled with what appeared to be urine, police said.

The boy’s father, Joseph Gregory Antonsen, didn’t call for help when Theodore’s heart stopped in July 2024.

Instead, he left his son alone in the Arizona heat for two days.

When cops were called to his house on July 14, Antonsen told officers his son had previously been sick.

He claimed he planned to get medical help for Theodore when he noticed he was limp and not breathing after he had been sick and shaking, investigators said.

The dad, 39, claimed he looked for a pulse on the boy and didn’t find one — but then he just left, police records said.

He told cops he knew he should have called the authorities, but he couldn’t give a reason as to why he didn’t.

When Antonsen returned two days later, he then called cops to the house in Picture Rocks, Arizona, about 30 miles east of Tucson.

Officers arrived and found the house was sweltering in the heat with an inside temperature between 103 and 113 degrees with no AC, according to CBS affiliate KOLD-TV.

Theodore’s body was sitting up on the couch, which was surrounded by trash, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.

PCSO said they found “empty beer cans, large piles of soiled diapers, rotten food, bottles full of what appears to be urine, lots of insect activity and spiders (black widow and brown recluse).”

The home was full of spiderwebs and also had no running water or working toilets, police said.

According to the autopsy report, there was no evidence that sickness or injury contributed to Theodore’s death.

However, the medical examiner noted that it was hard to determine the cause of death because the boy’s body was left alone for so long.

There were signs of decomposition and insect activity on Theodore’s body.

Officials said the high temperatures didn’t contribute to his death.

Antonsen pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse, including a count where he knew the abuse might cause death.

In court, officials revealed Antonsen suffered from addiction as well as untreated mental health issues, according to NBC affiliate KVOA.

He was sentenced to a maximum of 15 years behind bars, followed by 20 years of probation.

Judge Kimberly Ortiz told Antonsen that his worst punishment was knowing that he played a role in his son’s death.

“You knew he needed help and for whatever reason, even with the resources around you from your parents, both financial and emotional, you were not able to correct your behavior and the devastation you were surrounding your child with,” Ortiz said.

It’s unclear what Antonsen was doing in the two days he left his son’s dead body at home. PCSO didn’t immediately return The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.