Police have arrested an Italian man who allegedly stashed the body of his 103-year-old mother in a freezer for six months so that he could continue collecting her pension payments.

Neighbors alerted the police after becoming concerned about Irma Borgoglio’s extended disappearance, further exacerbated by the evasive responses regarding her whereabouts from her 63-year-old son, Pierangelo Bussolera, who claimed she was “in bed” and could not see anyone.

When police arrived, they found the woman’s corpse in the kitchen near the refrigerator. Officials theorize that Bussolera was trying to thaw the frozen body in time to make it look as if she had just died.

As of last year, Borgoglio shared an apartment with her son Pierangelo in a small hill town of the northern Italian region of Piedmont. Neighbors told police that the two often quarreled over money, but the quarreling had stopped last March. They also registered their surprise with the son’s purchase of the large freezer unit.

Early reports suggest that the woman died last March, though police are exercising discretion about details of the case. According to an official statement, “Investigations are underway to ascertain the circumstances and the actions that led to the death, which must be placed long before her rediscovery.”

Bussolera has been charged with concealment of a corpse and swindling the state out of pension funds, but police are also awaiting a post-mortem examination to find out the cause of the mother’s death.

Police are reportedly investigating whether the man killed his mother after the pair were heard arguing months ago. Around the time that the woman is thought to have died, Mr. Bussolera quit his job.

On being interrogated by police, Bussolera reportedly stated, “I didn’t want to be separated from my mother even after she died. I loved her very much and we have always been together.”

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