He embalms his mother's corpse to continue to benefit from her pension

Austrian police have found the body of a woman who had been embalmed by her son, so he could claim her social allowance

The 66-year-old admitted that he kept his mother's body in a basement in the Innsbruck-Land region of western Austria after police visited his home.

Police said the 89-year-old was believed to have died in June 2020, but the man kept her body to continue receiving her pension and care allowance.

Police said the man collected about 50,000 euros ($59,000) during the time he kept his mother's body in the basement.

The statement added that the autopsy conducted on Wednesday did not reveal any indications that the woman's death was suspicious. The man is accused of fraud and concealment of a dead body.

And the "Agence France Presse" reported that the man admitted that he froze his mother's body using ice bags to prevent any smell, and wrapped it in bandages to absorb any bodily fluids.

"He covered his mother with cat litter and then embalmed the body," Helmut Goeffler, head of the police's welfare fraud unit, said in an interview.

When the man's brother came to see their mother, he told him she was in the hospital. It was only when a new postman asked to see the recipient of the benefits he was offering that the truth began to emerge, the agency said.

The postman explained that the man refused to let him see his mother, prompting the police to inspect the property.