On February 5th, police made a chilling discovery in a semi-detached house in Ruhmannsfelden (Regen district): in the basement, they found the heavily mummified remains of a woman. According to the Lower Bavaria Police Headquarters, the body had been there for quite some time. The 82-year-old daughter, who lived in the house with her mother, born in 1922, is now suspected of pension fraud.
According to police findings so far, the elderly woman had not been seen in public for several years.
Mayor’s mistrust triggers investigation
The case was ultimately set in motion by the mayor of the market town Ruhmannsfelden, Werner Troiber. In small communities, it is customary to personally congratulate elderly residents on their birthdays. However, for years his attempts to visit the senior citizen were unsuccessful, reports Bild. No one answered the door even on her 95th birthday. On her 100th birthday, the daughter canceled, citing her mother’s illness—same for the 101st birthday. When in December last year it was finally claimed that the woman had died two years earlier in the Czech Republic, Troiber became suspicious and alerted the authorities, according to Bild.
During a subsequent search of the house, officers discovered the corpse in the basement of the semi-detached house where mother and daughter had lived together. How long the woman had been dead there remains unclear. According to police statements, an autopsy found no indication of foul play. The exact cause of death could no longer be determined. Investigators estimate, however, that the death likely occurred several years ago.
Suspected years-long pension fraud
The focus of the investigation is now on the 82-year-old daughter of the deceased. She is alleged to have continued receiving her mother’s monthly pension of around 1,500 euros for years. She is being investigated on suspicion of fraud. The woman has since admitted herself to a specialized clinic for treatment.