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With family in house, body left to mummify
Associated Press
Published January 11, 2006
CINCINNATI - The mummified body of a woman who didn't want to be buried was found in a chair in front of her television set 2 1/2 years after her death, authorities said.
Johannas Pope had told her live-in caregiver she didn't want to be buried and planned on returning after she died, Hamilton County Coroner O'Dell Owens said.
Pope died in August 2003 at age 61. Her body was found last week in the upstairs of her home on a quiet street. Some family members continued to live downstairs, authorities said.
It could take weeks to determine Pope's cause of death, Owens said.
An air conditioner had been left running upstairs, and that allowed the body to slowly mummify, he said. The machine stopped working about a month ago, and the body began to smell.
Police went to the house last Wednesday after receiving a call from a relative who hadn't seen Pope in years.
It was not clear if any crimes were committed, Owens said.
Police did not identify the caregiver.
[Last modified January 11, 2006, 00:42:11]
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