A man who was about to be thrown out of his flat by arriving officials decided instead to throw himself off the balcony rather than be evicted – and firefighters then discovered that he had been living with his father’s mummified corpse.

It is believed that the elderly man had been dead for about 18 months and the corpse was found under a bed.

The incident took place in the municipality of Mostoles in the Community of Madrid in central Spain on Thursday, 20th January, but the information has just emerged now.

Jose Manuel Cobos, 54, survived the fall from the third-floor window of the building on Calle (Street) de Palafox and is reportedly in hospital being treated for his injuries, which are said to be very serious but non-life-threatening. He reportedly suffered a ruptured spleen, a broken hip, several crushed vertebrae, and head trauma.

Officials had gone to the flat to evict him for failing to pay the rent. Firefighters then discovered the mummified corpse of his late, 83-year-old father in one of the rooms, reportedly stashed under a bed.

The corpse is currently being studied in a bid to determine the cause of death.

The 54-year-old man worked in construction for years but lost his job about 10 years ago. He separated from his wife in 2014 and went to live with his father. It is believed that the father died sometime during the coronavirus pandemic in the summer of 2020.

The octogenarian was last seen alive in June 2020 and his son allegedly failed to notify anyone of his father’s passing. He also allegedly continued to collect his father’s pension due to a lack of personal income, according to the police, who say they discovered that he had gone to the bank every month to withdraw the pensioner’s money.

But after moving in with his father, the rent reportedly stopped being paid and the owner, who has not been named, began the eviction procedure.

The man is expected to explain what happened to his father to investigators after he is discharged from hospital.