9/2005: Mummified man, dead two years, found in southern France apartment

The mummified body of a Croatian, most likely dead for two years, was found in his Aix-en-Provence apartment in man have been found in his apartment in southeastern France.

He was discovered when a management representative for the apartment building came to request a bill payment. 

Source: expatica.com

3/2005: 'Oldest man in Japan found mummified in his house

The oldest man from Itami, Japan, was found mummified in the house he shared with his children. Unfortunately, his family had received many gifts over the years to honor the man's longevity. Authorities discovered, however, that the 107-year-old man had probably been dead for almost ten years. 

Source: bbc.co.uk

2/2005: ''Invisible' NJ man, mummified, waits nine months for his body to be discovered 

A 76-year-old New Jersey man died alone in his Livingstone home. Nine months later, after police pried open his front door, they discovered his mummified body.

Apparently, no one had missed him. He had no friends or relatives. When he was finally buried, no one attended the funeral. 

A news story about his life concluded that "It was a lonely ending to a lonely life." 

Source: nj.com

1/2005: Russian woman who died alone eight years ago is finally discovered--naturally mummified

A woman who died in a Moscow apartment lay undiscovered for eight years before neighbors reported they had not seen her 'for a while....' Police officers found her mummified body slumped over a newspaper dated 1996.

Source: wpherald.com

8/2004: Mummified Winnipeg man discovered two years after his death

Winnipeg police found the mummified remains of a 52-year-old man in his condo where he went unnoticed for two years or so. Police could not determine the exact date of his death, but the most recent newspapers in his apartment were dated November 2002. 

The man received disability payments which were automatically deposited in his bank account; his bills were also automatically paid from the accounts. No one knew there was a problem until the disability checks stopped.

"Nobody has smelled anything, but you know we have a good ventilation system. He was a nice man, that's all I could tell from what we knew," a neighbor told reporters.

Source: cbc.ca

A strange and almost unbelievable story from Lehigh Acres, Florida.

A 63-year-old woman and her 42-year-old son from Germany maintained a vacation home in Florida. Three years ago, in early 1999, they told U.S. friends that they were moving back to Germany. On the other hand, friends and family in Germany thought that they were staying in the U.S. Neither group ever heard from the two again, each figuring that they were now in the other country. 

Finally, in November 2002, a U.S. friend learned that their Florida house was to be sold for non-payment of taxes. He went to their house to see if he could uncover what was wrong. To his surprise, he found the naturally mummified bodies of the woman, her son, and their dog. 

Authorities believe that they had been dead for over three years. Calendars and papers in the house showed a February 1999 date; milk and cheese in the refrigerator had 1999 expiration dates. A heavy layer of dust coated everything in the house.

1. How could this have happened?  

Although the property taxes had not been paid for a few years, the utility bills were automatically paid from a bank account. The family friend found the lights, the refrigerator, and the air conditioner still running. The air conditioner kept the house cool and dry, a perfect environment for natural mummification. The bodies, it should be noted, were only partially mummified (the other part skeletonized).

2. Why did this happen?

Police wonder if the deaths were a murder-suicide. Although there were no signs of foul play, authorities have ordered autopsies to determine if any poisons or narcotics were involved in the deaths. They also discovered two notes (one a poem) written in German. Two lines from the poem read, "We will be in heaven and where we are going we'll live forever and be in peace forever." 

Source: Arizona Daily Sun (1/22/02), CNN.com (1/22/02)