'Mrs Doubtfire scandal' rocks Italy as man impersonates dead mother, even gets her ID renewed

A man in Italy changed his physical appearance to emulate his dead mother to gain pension benefits. He did the make-up and dressed in such a way that he bore an uncanny resemblance to the woman. He was even able to fool the authorities into renewing her ID. The unnamed 56-year-old man is unemployed, and after his mother passed away three years ago, he stashed the body inside their home. He continued to take pension benefits and more by dressing up just like his mother. The local media has dubbed the case “Mrs Doubtfire scandal", the movie where Robin Williams' character dressed up as a woman. Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that by the time authorities finally understood what was going on, his mother's body had mummified.

The man got her mother's ID renewed after her death

Graziella Dall’Oglio passed away at 82 years old, but her death was never reported. Her son put her dead body into a sleeping bag and hid it in the laundry room. The man impersonated his dead mother to cash her pension. Every little detail was followed to the T, including her makeup and hairstyle. The pictures shared by authorities show a striking similarity between the son and her mother. He also renewed her identity card at a government office, and no one suspected a thing. The newspaper reported that he collected $61,000 every year from her pension and a property portfolio of three houses.

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However, his luck ran out when a government employee noticed his “masculine features” and carefully noted his "low voice and thick neck." He informed the authorities, who compared his photos with his mother's and finally learned that the man had conned him. They searched his house and found Dall’Oglio's mummified body. Francesco Aporti, the mayor of Borgo Virgilio, told the newspaper that she probably died of natural causes, although the exact cause will be established by the postmortem. "It is a very strange story and very, very sad,” he said. Her son is being investigated for illegally concealing a body and benefit fraud.