In a story that seems ripped from a psychological thriller, a small Italian town was rocked by a strange and sad case of fraud, revealing the desperate lengths to which a man would go to maintain a lie.
The Perfect Crime... Or So He Thought
Three years ago, 82-year-old Graziella Dalla Llio passed away. But her death became a secret, hidden from the authorities and the outside world. Her 56-year-old son, an unemployed nurse, orchestrated an elaborate scheme to continue collecting her valuable pension.
Instead of reporting her death, he made a horrifying decision: he mummified his mother's body and hid it in the family home.
A Total Transformation: From Son to "Mother"
To keep deceiving the authorities, the son had to impersonate his mother convincingly. He went to extraordinary lengths for the role:
Changing His Appearance: He cut his hair to match his late mother's signature style.
Elaborate Makeup: He applied foundation and lipstick to hide his masculine features and mimic the skin of an elderly woman.
Precise Accessories: He wore her distinctive jewellery, including a pear-shaped necklace and old-fashioned earrings.
In this disguise, confident in his transformation, he visited a government office in the suburb of "Borgo Virgilio" to renew his mother's identity card—and he succeeded.
The Devil in the Details: How the Lie Unravelled
The carefully laid plan began to crumble during a later visit to another government office on the outskirts of "Mantua." Despite his meticulous preparation, small details betrayed him, alerting observant clerks:
Unconvincing Physical Traits: The mayor noted the man had a "thick neck" and "strange wrinkles," and that the skin on his hands did not resemble that of an 85-year-old woman.
A Suspicious Voice: Although he softened his voice, his tone occasionally slipped into a masculine register, raising further doubts.
The police were alerted. They compared official photos of the real Graziella Dalla Llio with the "woman" who had visited the office, uncovering the gruesome deception.
The Gruesome Discovery: A Body in the Laundry Room
After the fraud was exposed, police raided the man's home. There, they found the mummified body of his mother, Graziella Dalla Llio, in what they described as a "clear state of mummification." The body was wrapped in bedsheets and hidden inside a sleeping bag in the laundry room. It was later transported to a local morgue for an autopsy; the cause of death is believed to be natural.
The Motive: Behind It All... Money
The investigation revealed a purely financial motive. The son had been receiving an estimated £47,000 per year from his mother's pension and a property portfolio of three houses. For years, he successfully claimed thousands of euros before his fictional world collapsed.
A Tragic Ending
The man now faces multiple charges, including illegally hiding a corpse and benefit fraud. Local officials described the case as "strange and extremely sad," highlighting not just human greed, but the psychological tragedy and desperation that can drive a person to live a monumental lie for years, surrounded by a terrible secret.