A devastated son is facing prison for digging up his mother’s grave, taking her corpse home, mummifying it, and leaving it on his sofa for 13 years.
The body was discovered after the 76-year-old man’s estranged brother-in-law decided to pay him a visit at his house in Radlin, southwest Poland.
When his brother-in-law noticed him rambling about outdoors “looking insane,” he decided to phone EMS.
As they entered the property, they discovered the mummified corpse sitting on a couch on top of a mound of 2009 newspapers.
“We received a notification in connection with the disclosure of the body from a family member of the apartment’s owner,” police spokesperson Magorzata Koniarska said.
“The cops headed to Radlin’s Ul. Rogozina. A mummified corpse was discovered in an elderly man’s part of the house.”
“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,” stated Joanna Smorczewska of the District Prosecutor’s Office.
“It was found that Jadwiga L.’s grave, where she was interred on January 16, 2010, remains unmarked.”
“It’s possible that the man dug out the mother’s body soon after burial and mummified it; the body has been in this house since 2010.”
Marian L., who lives only 300 meters from the cemetery, is suspected of riding his bike home with the body.
“Everything indicates that the individual must have used certain chemicals to mummify the corpse,” said Marcin Felsztyski, head of the district prosecutor’s office.
“There was a distinct odor of mothballs.”
However, the body appeared to be in “excellent condition.”
Although the finding was discovered in February, the news was just recently released after the suspect was charged with desecration of a corpse.
Marian L. was a recluse, according to local newspapers, and his neighbors didn’t even know his name.
“He always left the house at night, took his bike, and headed into the unknown,” one added.
His mother will be buried again.
