A shocking concealed corpse case occurred in Oita City, Japan. A 57-year-old man, Tadahiro Ono, in order to continue collecting his deceased mother’s elderly pension, hid his 93-year-old mother’s corpse under the floor of their home for as long as four months, pretending she was still alive. After the incident came to light in December last year, Ono was prosecuted for abandoning a corpse and on Monday (the 4th), he admitted to the charges during his court appearance.
According to Japanese media reports, in October last year, Ono wrapped his mother’s body in a blue waterproof tarp and hid it under the floor of his home, failing to report her death as required. During this period, he continued to fraudulently receive pension payments totaling 530,000 yen (about 15,246 ringgit), which he used for living expenses and to pay off debts.
It was not until December last year, when Ono’s mother had not been seen for a long time and relatives reported her missing, that the police searched the house and discovered a skeletonized body under the floor. Identification confirmed it was Ono’s mother.
Prosecutors stated that Ono relied on his mother’s pension for daily living, and feared losing his financial source if he reported her death, so he concealed the news and hid her body under the floor. They also revealed that Ono was given a suspended sentence for theft in 2022.