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U-M Anthropologist To Inspect Mummified Body Found In Detroit Garage

DETROIT (WWJ) -- An anthropologist will arrive in Detroit on Tuesday to help with the mysterious case of a mummified body found in a garage last week.

The body was discovered by a person who was interested in purchasing a home in Detroit. The tenants said they knew nothing about the body because the owner told them not the use the garage.

Lloyd Jackson, spokesperson for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, told WWJ Newsradio 950 that at this point they don't even know the sex of the victim.

"When the body came in -- because it was so badly decomposed and mummified -- there was an inspection done by the medical examiner," Jackson said. "No autopsy was done, just and inspection and it was determined that an anthropologist needs to come in and do further testing and an actual autopsy on the body."

Jackson said that they are also hoping to find out the age and identity of the victim and the cause of death when the anthropologist from the University of Michigan conducts an investigation this week.

"When a body is mummified, it is passed the decomposition stages," Jackson said. "When a body decomposes it brings about flies and those things, but it's passed that stage and it's like the bones are really brown, like a dark brown -- like leathery almost."

The body was wearing a sweater, shirt and pants.

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