A MUMMIFIED alcoholic is set to receive a proper burial – despite dying in 1895.
The petty thief and alcoholic, known colloquially as Stoneman Willie, died of kidney failure in a Reading, Pennsylvania, jail on Nov 19, 1895.
ReutersStoneman Willie has been kept in Auman’s Funeral Home since his death 128 years ago[/caption]
At the time of arrest, Willie had given the authorities a fake name – skewing the search for a next of kin when he died.
As the doomed search was being carried out, his body was accidentally mummified by a mortician who was experimenting with new embalming techniques.
Auman’s Funeral Home petitioned for permission to keep Willie’s body so that they could continue to monitor the process of embalmment.
Since then, his body has been on display at Auman’s Funeral Home, where he could be seen dressed in a suit, bow tie, and with a red sash draped across his chest.
“We don’t refer to him as a mummy. We refer to him as our friend Willie,” said Kyle Blankenbiller, a funeral director.
“He has just been become such an icon, such a storied part of not only Reading’s past but certainly its present.”
128 years after his death, Auman’s Funeral Home have been able to identity Stoneman Willie using modern technology and historical documents.
They will be revealing his name later this week when the body is finally given a funeral, and laid to rest.
On Oct 7, Willie will make his final appearance on the streets of Reading.
The mummified man will be buried at a local cemetery, with a tombstone engraved with his real name.
This comes after scientists embark on a mission to uncover the mystery behind the eerie child mummies that have been found in Sicily.
ReutersThe city of Reading gathered to memorialise the mummified man[/caption]
ReutersStoneman Willie will finally receive a funeral on Oct 7[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
