Mummy Found In Renter's Bathtub
POSTED: 12:58 pm MST February 11,
2008
UPDATED: 6:22 pm MST February 11,
2008
PHOENIX -- A years-old mummified body has been found in a cottage bathtub beneath layers of wood, plastic, dirt and sand, Phoenix police said.The owners of several cottages said they grew suspicious after the renter stopped sending monthly checks, officers said.The landlords entered the property on Friday and found trash stacked from floor to ceiling, said Sgt. Joel Tranter of the Phoenix Police Department.Once they reached the bathroom, they discovered the bathtub was covered with plywood and plastic, Tranter said. Underneath the material, they found layers of dirt and sand, Tranter said.As the owners began removing the dirt, they saw a human leg and ran to call police, according to Tranter.Homicide investigators said they are labeling the incident as a "death unknown."The entire bathtub was extracted with the mummified body and dirt in tact and transported to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for examination, Tranter said.Tranter said preliminary information indicated that the person buried in the tub had been dead for a number of years.Investigators said they have identified the most recent resident on the cottage and are currently following-up on leads, Tranter said. The person's identity is currently being withheld.The property owners said they rented the cottage to a man in 1995. They said they had received regular rent payments from 1995 through the summer of 2007 when the rent payments stopped.The landlords said they briefly visited the property last summer and believed that the unit was abandoned.ELSEWHERE ON KPHO.COM: A local store clerk was killed Sunday night as the result of a single gunshot wound. CLICK HERE for details. MORE SLIDESHOWS: From the bizarre to the tragic to late-breaking news, visit the KPHO.com slideshow section and click away! CLICK HERE for images.
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