Family Hides Man’s Death, Lives With His Corpse For Months To Collect Pension

A 56-year-old woman and her two adult children were arrested in Japan for allegedly living with the corpse of a man for months to collect his pension, police have said.

Authorities found the decomposing body of 84-year-old Masahiro Tamura in his family's residence in Okazaki, a city in central Japan, Saturday.

Masahiro's wife, Michiko Tamura, and the couple's 29-year-old son, Akinori, and 32-year-old daughter, Yuko, were arrested Sunday. While being taken into custody, Michiko reportedly confessed to police that they had continued to collect Masahiro's monthly pension even after his death, reported news outlet Japan Today.

"I wanted his pension," Michiko told officers, according to the outlet.

Investigators responded to the couple's residence Saturday to check on Masahiro after receiving a report from one of his relatives that the man may be missing. The relative reportedly got in touch with authorities after their several attempts to contact Masahiro failed.

Upon arriving at the residence, investigators were shocked to find out that Masahiro had been dead for months. They saw Masahiro's decomposing body wrapped in a futon on the first floor of the house.

Michiko then told officers that her husband had died of natural causes in January. However, the family decided not to report the death as they wanted his pension money, Tokyo Reporter said in a report.

Last week, two young children were found living with their father's corpse in Bareilly, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The children, aged 4 and 6, reportedly approached a neighbor to ask for food.

The neighbor, who grew suspicious after the children complained that their father was neither talking to them nor giving them anything to eat, checked the house and found 32-year-old Manoj Dayal's decomposing body hanging low from the ceiling. Police believe the man hanged himself three days before he was found. An autopsy report confirmed the cause of his death as antemortem hanging.