Darmstadt
Freight forwarding company takes corpse away when clearing apartment – because they thought it was a doll
In Darmstadt, furniture movers accidentally removed and stored a corpse (symbol image)
© Photo Booth / Gelhot / Picture Alliance
A freight forwarding company had to vacate the apartment of an insolvent tenant in Darmstadt. They accidentally took the recently deceased tenant with them. Because they mistook his body for a doll.
When clearing an apartment in Darmstadt, a forwarding company accidentally took a corpse with it and stored it, according to the authorities. The movers thought the dead man was a doll. According to a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office, it is possible that the fully clothed corpse of the then 58-year-old man was also taken for a “kind of resuscitation doll”.
The spokesman continues: “It’s hard to imagine, but it seems to have been the case.”
Error discovered in Darmstadt two months later
The mistake was not discovered until two months later, when the supposed doll began to decompose. After the eviction on February 9, all items from the apartment were considered seized, were taken away and initially stored. When a bailiff wanted to inspect the items on April 14 to assess their value, he called the police. “The state of decomposition of the corpse was now correspondingly advanced,” said the spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office.
An autopsy revealed that the dead man was the tenant of the apartment. According to the public prosecutor’s office, he had to clear the house, a bailiff had commissioned the forwarding agency. Investigators believe the man committed suicide or died of natural causes. There was no evidence of a violent crime. According to the public prosecutor’s office, there is also no possible disturbance of the peace of the dead, this requires an intention that is not recognizable. Several media had reported on the case.
Sources: German Press Agency, “The mirror“