Sandro Mallus admitted hiding his mother’s body in her own home in Italy – but insisted she died of natural causes

An Italian man has said he kept his dead mother’s remains in a freezer to cover up her death and continue to collect her pension.

Sandro Mallus told police he put the body of Rosanna Pilloni, 78, in the family’s chest freezer after she passed away at home in the small town of Sarroch, near Cagliari in Sardinia, in January last year.

He made the admission after police began investigating concerns from neighbours that the woman hadn’t been seen for months.

According to local media, Mr Mallus continued shopping as if he was buying for two people, maintaining the pretence that his mother was alive.

Police are due to carry out a post mortem examination on Monday and have not ruled out the possibility Pilloni was killed, something Mr Mallus denies.

“My mother died of natural causes,’’ Mr Mallus told the newspaper, L’Unione Sarda. “I would never have harmed her.

“When I discovered her body I was desperate. I had no money for the funeral, so I locked her in there.”

  • RangerJosie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    973·
    4 months ago

    That’s fair. If I had kids I’d want them to do this to keep collecting the social security I’ll never collect.

    • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.netEnglish
      51·
      4 months ago

      We’ve been poor my whole life, and my mom is disabled. Our income consists of her disability and my paycheck, that I get from the state for being her caregiver. While I could never do this, she has literally asked me to do this out of concern for me should anything happen

        • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.netEnglish
          6·
          4 months ago

          I’m half way through a bachelor’s at 33, and we’re working on applying for a home loan through the USDA. But honestly, I can’t really bear to think about it. She’s my life. I don’t know that I’ll make it through that.

          • RangerJosie@lemmy.worldEnglish
            4·
            4 months ago

            You will. I went through it with both parents. I burned my 20s looking after my dad until he passed just like you’re doing. Then burned the first half of my 30s looking after my mom.

            Inb4 - My choice on both counts. And I don’t regret it. But because of it I sort of failed to launch. Never got a chance to be young. That part I do regret. Never went to college. Never dated. Don’t even make $15/hr now and I’m almost 40. Been on my own for about 4 years now. I’m keeping the bills paid. But that’s about it.

            Said all that to say this, finish that Bachelor’s. Don’t you dare let anything get in the way of that. I’m only making it cuz I’m not opposed to eating ramen for years at a time. Bills eat up all the rest of my money. Economy is fucked beyond fucked. That degree may not help you much or it may be a godsend. But it’s far better to have that than just a HS diploma like I have.

            • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.netEnglish
              2·
              4 months ago

              I’m lucky, I have a decent social circle, and I see them just about as often as I want. I’m just so much of an introvert that I don’t often try to see anyone. I’ll finish the bachelor’s, and if I can do it, I’m going for an MFA after. My grades are amazing, so I’m pretty confident. The part that scares me is being without her, not the finances. I’ll live in a car if I need to, I’ve done it before. Work night shift security and park somewhere semi safe and I’ll be fine. But the idea of not having her is absolutely terrifying. My whole life she’s been my best friend, and it’s really scary to see her not able to get out of the bed now. I know people say their parents are their friends, but I mean it. We talk about everything, play games. Anything happens, she’s my first thought. Major Mama’s boy. Haha

              I’m really sorry you’ve lost both your parents, and that it’s been a rough transition. If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of work do you do? If you’re in the US, security pays kinda shitty, but generally above minimum wage by quite a bit, and most sites are so easy you can do whatever you want at work, video games, movies, or even college classes if you’re so inclined. I wish I’d signed up for SNHU when I was still doing security, I’d have that MFA by now, but my dumbass never thought I was able to handle college until I bit the bullet during the pandemic.