Vienna, September 10: Police in Austria recently arrested a 66-year-old man who had mummified his mother's body in order to keep receiving her benefits. The incident came to light when a postman asked to see the beneficiary. When the son refused, the postman reported this. The police visited the man's house and discovered body of his 80-year-old mother. It emerged that the woman had died more than a year ago. Uttar Pradesh: Man Preserves Son’s Body in Freezer Suspecting Foul Play in Death, Says Won't Perform Last Rites Until Case Is Registered.

The accused used to live with his mother near Innsbruck in the Tyrol region in Austria. When his mother died, he froze her body with icepacks in the basement and later mummified the corpse. "The 66-year-old man kept her body in order to continue receiving benefits," cops were quoted by news agency AFP as saying. Spooky! Human Bodies 'Move' Even a Year After Death Says Scientist.

The accused wrapped his mother's body in bandages to absorb any corporal fluid. "He covered his mother with cat litter and finally the corpse was mummified," Helmut Gufler, in charge of the police's social security fraud unit, told public broadcaster ORF. The suspect would also lie to his brother whenever he asked about their mother.

The accused had told his brother that their mother was in hospital. He was receiving his mother’s benefits by post every month until a new postman asked to see the original beneficiary. When the son refused, the postman got suspicious and informed the authorities. The police visited the house and discovered the body on September 4.

A postmortem was conducted which ruled out murder. The son has been booked for committing benefit fraud and hiding corpse. He had received benefits worth 50,000 euros over the past year by hiding his mother's body.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 10, 2021 01:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).