A 68-year-old woman and her son have been arrested after skeletal remains believed to be those of her 90-year-old mother were found wrapped in sheets and nylon in the basement of their Marathon home, ending a decade-long pension fraud scheme.
The case came to light in August after the elderly woman’s granddaughter reported she had not seen her grandmother for about 10 years.
Police initially searched the property’s yard but later located the bones in a storage room in the basement.
The 68-year-old daughter admitted to investigators that she buried her mother after she died and continued to collect her pension—about €1,000 a month—because she had no other income.
“I wanted the pension because I had no other job,” she told Greek media. She said she used the money to pay off debts in installments.
She claimed her mother “was not well in her head” and fell, but said she could not recall the exact circumstances of the death. She added that her son knew about the burial and had helped move the body with a worker.
Her son, however, disputed parts of her account, saying he had been living with his father in Trikala and only knew that his mother had “taken care of it.” He said he suspected something was wrong but did not know the details.
A forensic anthropologist is examining the remains to determine the cause and time of death. Prosecutors have ordered the arrests on charges of failing to report a death, with a separate fraud case expected against the state.