Baby John
A rather sweet but macabre story with a stupidly unfortunate decision by a Judge.
From Boston television station
WHDH-TV:
Judge orders Concord man to have mummified baby buried
A judge has ordered a Concord man to lay an unusual family heirloom to rest.
Probate Judge Richard Hampe said the mummified baby known as "Baby John" passed down for generations through Charles Peavey's family must be buried because there is no DNA evidence proving kinship.
Peavey said Wednesday his family is disappointed, but will not appeal the decision.
"I'm just washing my hands of it," said Peavey. "I'm disappointed it came to this."
Until police confiscated Baby John last year, the mummy had been on display on a bureau in Peavey's home. Relatives and friends treated the desiccated infant as a family member, giving it cards during holidays and even a dried fish as a pet. Authorities learned of the mummy's existence after Peavey's niece mentioned to day care staffers that her uncle kept a dead baby at his house.
Peavey said his family believes the mummy is the stillborn child of a great-great uncle.
Testing by the state concluded the baby died of natural causes shortly after its birth and confirmed the remains were decades old, but did not determine the mummy's age or origin. Peavey said he can't afford DNA testing, and the state won't release the remains unless there is proof of a family relationship.
"It's one of the few things from our family past that we have left," Peavey had written in a petition to the court. "And when I pass on, I was looking forward to passing it on to another family member, to keep some of the history for future family members."
It should have been obvious to the Judge that this was a loved member of the family and not some disrespectful use of a human body. The dried fish for a pet was genius!!!
Posted by DaveH at September 21, 2007 8:25 PM