An unemployed nurse from Italy is under investigation after allegedly dressing up as his dead mother to claim her pension, while her mummified body was hidden at the family home
An Italian man has been accused of donning his deceased mum’s clothes in an attempt to claim her pension, all the while hiding her body at home.
The 56-year-old man, an out-of-work nurse from Mantua, managed to pocket thousands of euros before his alleged charade was discovered, Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper reports.
He had also allegedly stashed away the lifeless body of his mother, Graziella Dall’Oglio, at their family home until it had become mummified.
Ms Dall’Oglio passed away around three years ago, aged 82. However, her son didn’t officially report her death and instead wrapped her body in a sheet, stuffed it into a sleeping bag and hid it in the house, it is alleged.
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He then reportedly dressed up as his mother, complete with lipstick, foundation and a necklace, before heading off to renew her identity card at a government office in the suburb of Borgo Virgilio.
The son had apparently had his hair cut in a similar style to his late mother’s, and wore jewellery to sell his disguise.
He underwent a ‘Mrs Doubtfire-style transformation’. the paper said, referring to the 1993 film starring Robin Williams. The man turned up at the government office on the outskirts of Mantua earlier this month where he allegedly presented himself as Ms Dall’Oglio.
But his deception raised the eyebrows of one employee, who noticed something odd about the ‘woman’ – including their thick neck and deep voice. A quick-thinking staff member promptly reported the incident to police and even tipped off the local mayor.
Authorities say they compared official snaps of the real Ms Dall’Oglio with those of her son and realised something was amiss.
The son had been raking in an annual income of around £47,000 thanks to his mum’s pension and boasted a property portfolio of three houses, according to reports.
After he was arrested, police went to his home where they made the grisly discovery of Ms Dall’Oglio’s body stashed away in the laundry room.
“He came into the council offices wearing a long skirt, he was wearing lipstick and nail varnish, a necklace and old-style earrings,” Francesco Aporti, the mayor of Borgo Virgilio, told Corriere della Sera.
“But up close his neck was too thick and his wrinkles were odd, the skin on his hands didn’t seem to be that of an 85-year-old woman.
“His voice was feminine but every so often it dipped and sounded masculine. But I might not have noticed these strange features had they not been pointed out.”
Referencing the suspect’s mum, the mayor said: “She probably died of natural causes but that will be established by the postmortem. It is a very strange story and very, very sad.”
Italy’s military police say the mum’s body was wrapped in bed sheets and a sleeping bag. They stated: “The body was in a clear state of mummification.”
The remains were then transported to the local hospital’s mortuary for a post-mortem examination. The man is now under investigation for illegal concealment of a body and benefit fraud.
