Man in Poland lived with his mother’s mummified corpse for years

In Poland, a man has been living with his mother’s mummified corpse for years.

The 76-year-old had apparently been with the dead for more than 13 years, a spokeswoman for the responsible public prosecutor’s office in Glproteinz (Gliwice) said to the DPA news agency on Thursday. DNA analysis showed that it was his mother.

According to Polish media reports, the man lived in part of a detached house in the Silesian town of Radlin, where his sister and her husband also lived. He was considered an eccentric and was not visited by his relatives. Because his behavior was becoming more and more conspicuous, the brother-in-law called an ambulance at the end of February.

The rescuers saw a gruesome sight in the 76-year-old’s apartment: a woman’s mummified corpse lying on the sofa. A forensic report revealed that the woman had died in 2010. The public prosecutor then opened the grave where the man’s mother was buried in January 2010. “When the coffin was opened, there was no body in it,” says the spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office.

According to media reports, the 76-year-old should not have come to terms with his mother’s death. He exhumed the body and embalmed it with chemicals. The substances used are currently under investigation. The 76-year-old has been admitted to hospital. The prosecutor’s office is investigating him for desecrating a corpse. (aeg/sda/dpa)