A grieving son who mummified his mother's corpse and put it on a sofa in front of the TV after digging up her grave and taking her home is facing jail. Photo / 123rf
A grieving son who mummified his mother's corpse and put it on a sofa in front of the TV after digging up her grave and taking her home is facing jail. Photo / 123rf
A grieving Polish son who mummified his mother’s corpse and kept her on the couch for 13 years after digging up her grave is facing jail time for a number of charges.
The family made the disturbing discovery when the 76-year-old man’s estranged brother-in-law decided to visit at his home in the Polish city of Radlin.
After showing up at the house, the brother-in-law saw the man, named Marian L, walking around outside the property “looking mad”, so he decided to call paramedics.
Upon arrival, paramedics entered the property and found the mummified corpse of Jadwiga L lying on a couch on top of old newspapers dating back to 2009.
The elderly woman had passed away and was buried more than 13 years ago, prosecutors said.
Małgorzata Koniarska, a spokeswoman for local police, said: “We received a report in connection with the disclosure of the body from a family member of the owner of the apartment.
Police spokeswoman Małgorzata Koniarska followed up on the report leading to the body. Photo / Poviat Police Headquarters
Head of the district prosecutor’s office Marcin Felsztyński told local media the smell was disgusting and they firmly believe chemicals were used to preserve the dead woman’s body.
“Everything indicates that the man must have used some chemicals to mummify the corpse.
The body was apparently in “perfect condition”, police claimed.
Joanna Smorczewska from the District Prosecutor’s Office said: “According to the DNA content, the mummified corpse is that of a woman, Jadwiga L., who died in January 2010, and thus Marian L.’s mother.
“It was established that the grave of Jadwiga L., where she was buried on January 16, 2010, remains empty.
“It is likely that the man dug up the mother’s body immediately after its burial and then mummified it and the body has remained in this house since 2010.”
Marian lives just 300m away from the cemetery his other was laid to rest at.
Police believe he may have transported her body by bike.
The initial discovery was made in February but has now made global news after the woman’s son was charged with the desecration of a corpse.
Local media reported that the suspect was “a loner”. “He always left the house at night, took his bike and went into the unknown,” one neighbour said.
