Moscow:
A Russian woman kept her husband's mummified headless body for three years, believing he will return to life one day as a miracle.
Investigators observed that the headless body found in a ditch in central Russia was actually there because of a failed Biblical miracle and not as the result of any murder.
The man, a Pentecostal missionary, died of an illness. But his wife, a member of the same Christian denomination, preserved the corpse for three years, found a local branch of the investigative committee in Yaroslavl region.
The mummified body was found in the village of Semibratovo in July, stashed in a plastic bag. It was missing an arm and head, soon discovered in a nearby trash dump.
The committee opened a case on murder charges, but eventually discovered the truth was quite different.
The family led an isolated life, with their five children brought up by the missionary's wife, a certified pre-school teacher.
The head of the family expired in 2009, but his wife could not bring herself to accept it, the report said. She preserved the body in the apartment and told the children he would come back to life.
The children were made to attend to their late father every day, speaking to him and "feeding" him broth.
The kids would tell her that he conversed with them. But she never entered his room, fearing that contacting him prematurely could spoil the resurrection.
The family kept acquaintances at bay by telling them the man was too ill to speak to anyone. They used air fresheners to mask the odour of the rotting body.
Investigators observed that the headless body found in a ditch in central Russia was actually there because of a failed Biblical miracle and not as the result of any murder.
The man, a Pentecostal missionary, died of an illness. But his wife, a member of the same Christian denomination, preserved the corpse for three years, found a local branch of the investigative committee in Yaroslavl region.
The mummified body was found in the village of Semibratovo in July, stashed in a plastic bag. It was missing an arm and head, soon discovered in a nearby trash dump.
The committee opened a case on murder charges, but eventually discovered the truth was quite different.
The family led an isolated life, with their five children brought up by the missionary's wife, a certified pre-school teacher.
The head of the family expired in 2009, but his wife could not bring herself to accept it, the report said. She preserved the body in the apartment and told the children he would come back to life.
The children were made to attend to their late father every day, speaking to him and "feeding" him broth.
The kids would tell her that he conversed with them. But she never entered his room, fearing that contacting him prematurely could spoil the resurrection.
The family kept acquaintances at bay by telling them the man was too ill to speak to anyone. They used air fresheners to mask the odour of the rotting body.
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