Woman lived with mother's corpse for months while collecting her welfare payments

Officers found sign on door claiming 89-year-old had ‘gone out of town to visit some friends’

Bergold allegedly put the body of her 89-year-old mother, Ruby, in a small plastic tub and moved it to the basement of her Peshtigo home (Marinette County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A 60-year-old woman has been charged after allegedly hiding her mother’s corpse in her basement for as long as four months while living off her social security cheques.

Paula Bergold is accused of placing the body of her 89-year-old mother, Ruby, in a small plastic tub before stowing her underneath her home in Peshtigo, eastern Wisconsin.

A neighbour called police in May after she had not seen Ruby for several months. They added that Paula had been “evasive” as to where Ruby might be, according to court filings.

When officers arrived at the property, they found a sign taped to the door that said "Ruby has gone out of town to visit some friends of ours. Paula."

One officer was able to smell decay coming from the house, and could see packets of mothballs at the doors.

Inside they found a chair covered in Borax, a chemical used in detergents, and ammonia bleach, but found no sign of the mother.

Paula eventually admitted her the 89-year-old’s body was being held in the home.

The complaint added that she had found her dead in a chair and couldn’t bring herself to contact the authorities – and had only placed her in the container due to the smell once she had begun to decompose.

She went on to allegedly tell officers that she had been surviving on her mother’s social security income and investments, and concerns over money had been a factor in her decision not to declare the 89-year-old’s passing to the police.

Ms Bergold appeared in court on Monday via video feed from prison on charges of hiding a corpse, failing to report a death, and obstruction.

Additional reporting by AP