A 55-year-old man in Mystras, Greece, has confessed to keeping his dead father's body in a freezer for two and a half years so he could continue collecting the man's pension, along with the pension of his mother, who had died earlier.
The case came to light after the Laconia police directorate received information that the elderly man, born in 1936, had not been seen for a long time.
Investigation into a missing 90-year-old
Officers investigating the tip called in the 55-year-old son for a statement. He told police his father had left and was living in Athens.
Police checked the claim with the man's sister, who lives in Athens. She told officers she had not seen her father in years, and that he had been living with her brother.
Body found in hotel basement freezer
Following the sister's account, investigators searched a hotel owned by the 55-year-old, in the presence of a prosecutor. The hotel was closed, and the man had been using it as his home. In the basement, officers found the body of his 90-year-old father inside a freezer. During the search, they also found and seized an air pistol.
The 55-year-old was arrested immediately. Questioned by police, he confessed to hiding his father's death. He said his father had died of natural causes two and a half years earlier, and that he put the body in the freezer and did not report the death, as required by law, so he could keep receiving his father's pension.
He also admitted that he had been collecting his mother's pension. His mother had died earlier, and his father had been the recipient of her pension payments.
Coroner ordered to examine body
A coroner and a team from the Sparta forensic investigation office went to the hotel. Investigators ordered an autopsy to be carried out on the body.
A case file has been opened against the 55-year-old for false statements, continuous fraud and violation of weapons legislation. He is due to be brought before a prosecutor. The preliminary investigation is being carried out by the Sparta Crime Suppression and Detection Department.
Police statement on the arrest
The Hellenic Police said in a statement that the man was arrested at midday in a local community in the municipality of Sparta by officers from the Sparta Crime Suppression and Detection Department. The arrest followed an investigation into the absence of his 90-year-old father, which police said showed the man had concealed his father's death from authorities in order to keep receiving his pension.
According to the police statement, the search of the closed hotel, carried out in the presence of a judicial officer, found the body in a freezer in the basement, along with one air pistol, which was seized.
The photo and video associated with the case were credited to laconiatv.gr.
