Valencia man who lived with father’s mummified body for seven months says living with corpse was 'a little tough'

Antonio told both the court and the media that he hid his 94-year-old father’s mummified body not for financial gain, but to avoid losing the family home and ending up on the streets.

"They would have taken my house away from me. I have so many problems I can't even begin to describe them. I did it so as not to lose the house where I live," 'Toni', as he is known locally, said on the Spanish television programme En boca de todos.

"If I'd gone ahead and buried my father, I would have lost the house because a third party would have inherited it. I did it to protect our family home," he added.

His account of how he handled his father's death in the isolation of his home borders on the macabre.

According to Antonio, he went out shopping one day and returned to find his father lying unconscious. "I can't remember exactly when my father died, but I think it was last summer. The issue isn't whether my father died eleven or seven months ago - the issue is something else," he stated.

Faced with the death, rather than alerting emergency services or the Guardia Civil, Antonio decided to live secretly alongside the remains, covering his father's body with a blanket.

When decomposition began creating a foul odour, Antonio sealed the bedroom door and blocked it with a heavy mattress. He regulated the airflow by opening and closing windows depending on "how the wind was blowing".

"Living with a dead body is a little tough. Only someone who's been through it really knows," Antonio admitted, maintaining that he had looked after his elderly father well during his final years.

Addressing the lead theory of investigators - that he concealed the death to continue collecting his father's pension - Antonio denied any financial motive.

"I want to make it clear that it wasn't to collect his pension. If I'd reported the death at the time, I would have applied for the minimum living allowance the very next day and received the exact same amount."

The shocking discovery took place on Monday. Antonio's brother, who lives in Japan, was visiting Spain on holiday and dropped by the house after months of hearing nothing from their father.

It was then that Antonio confessed. Overcome by a severe panic attack, the brother contacted a niece living in Italy, who subsequently alerted the Vilamarxant Local Police.

When officers first arrived, Antonio either was not home or refused to open the door. Hours later, police returned with two Guardia Civil officers and forced entry into the villa.

They were met with a harrowing sight: the elderly man's mummified body was lying on a bed, with the cracks around the room sealed with insulating tape to block odours and isolate the room from the rest of the house.

When officers approached Antonio to arrest him, he simply said: "I suppose you've come for me."

Legal Status

Despite the grim findings, the criminal investigation is now underway. A judge in Llíria has granted Antonio provisional release on bail on the condition that he reports to the court at regular intervals.

Antonio U. remains under investigation for two serious criminal offences. First, magistrates have charged him with abandonment of a vulnerable person, with investigators alleging that his father suffered ongoing neglect and was left unable to care for himself in his final months.

Second, he faces charges of Social Security fraud for allegedly concealing his father's death to claim his monthly pension.

A preliminary post mortem examination report has ruled out a violent death, suggesting the elderly man died of natural causes.

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