The body of an octogenarian who died more than a year ago and mummified in the cellar by her son who wanted to continue receiving his social benefits has been discovered in Tyrol, Austrian police said Thursday (September 9).
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The investigations revealed that this 89-year-old woman had died in June 2020 and that the 66-year-old man had kept her body in order to continue to receive benefits,
" said the police in a statement.
The suspect, who resided with her near Innsbruck, confessed during his custody to having frozen the deceased to ensure that there was no smell, before absorbing the bodily fluids with bandages.
"
Then he covered his mother with cat litter and finally, the corpse was mummified
", explained to the public channel ORF Helmut Gufler, in charge of the police cell dedicated to fraud in social benefits.
To his brother who came to the news, he explained that his mother, suffering from dementia and otherwise little surrounded, had been hospitalized.
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With the money being collected by monthly money order, a new letter carrier recently requested to see the payee and made a report when her son refused. The body was discovered last Saturday. The suspect is charged with the offense of fraud to social benefits and concealment of a corpse.