STORM2K

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A dead woman dressed in white was positioned in a chair in front of a television set for 2 1/2 years because she told her caregiver that she didn't want to be buried and planned to return, the coroner said.

"Don't show my body when I'm dead," Hamilton County Coroner Dr. O'dell Owens said Monday in describing Johannas Pope's wishes. "Don't bury me. I'm coming back."

Pope, 61, died Aug. 29, 2003. Her caretaker and friend, whose name has not been released, left the woman upstairs in the home with the television and air conditioning on while the body slowly decayed and mummified, authorities said.

Some family members continued to live downstairs in the house since her death.

Police went to the house last Wednesday after a relative who hadn't seen Pope in 2 1/2 years called them. They found a staircase behind a door blocked by a basket and climbed to the second floor where they found the body.

"Standing outside, one could smell death," Owens said.

Owens said he had not determined the cause of death but found no signs of abuse or foul play.

Authorities are working to determine whether any crimes were committed, but Owens said the caretaker and family members apparently did not benefit in any way by keeping Pope.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... 9-17-13-17

Another bizarre story in the news. And it happened right here too. Sigh....it is very strange. Why they wouldn't properly bury their mother even if she thought she'd come back is beyond creepy. I can't imagine it and imagine just living next door to a family that allowed this to happen. I don't think I'd be able to get a decent night's sleep again!

Again, bizarre.....

Sounds like a Bates Motel house..."Norman, is that YOU?!"

Eric

It did remind me of Psycho - and I pictured the rocking chair too! Ewwww...now Eric, I'm dead tired and need sleep tonight. I sure hope I can put this true story out of my head!!! Think pleasant thoughts, pleasant thoughts....LOL

I still say this family's a bit off their rocker to follow her wishes. More like a LOT!

Mary

PS - what was the deal with the TV? Was she waiting for a previously cancelled show to come back? Yikes!

Only in NY ...................Only in Cincy this time around!

I'll take a winged pig any ol' day!

Eric

Another article...Madisonville is a suburb of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Enquirer
January, 10, 2005

Woman sat dead at home 2½ years
Family kept TV on for mummified grandma

By Christy Arnold
Enquirer staff writer

MADISONVILLE - Johannas Pope didn't want to be buried, believing that she would come back to life.

Pope died at her home here at age 61 on Aug. 29, 2003. A towel had been placed around her neck to keep her cool on that 87-degree summer day. She wore a white gown while sitting in a chair in an upstairs room, in front of a television that played as family members went about their lives downstairs.

She remained there, according to her wishes, for almost 2½ years.

"Don't show my body when I'm dead," Hamilton County's coroner, Dr. O'dell Owens, said Monday when explaining Pope's wishes. "Don't bury me. I'm coming back."

Owens called a news conference Monday to explain Pope's demise, the unusual state of her body and how family members regulated heating and air conditioning as they attempted to preserve her remains.

Cincinnati police found the mummified grandmother Wednesday in her two-story, peach-colored home in the 5500 block of Davies Place.

Living in the 75-year-old house with the corpse were her daughter, Lisa Pope, a granddaughter who was born three months after her death, and Pope's caretaker, Kathy Painter, investigators say.

Family members are not being charged with a crime at this point.

Efforts to reach them Monday were unsuccessful. No one came to the door at the house or answered repeated telephone calls.

Only a handful of loved ones knew Pope had died and that her body remained upstairs, Owens said.

Family members kept a window air conditioner running to keep Pope's body cool - until about a month ago, when it broke, Owens said. Heating vents were covered during winter.

Life continued as Pope had wanted.

Friends and relatives who visited were told Pope was upstairs, ill, Owens said. Some yelled "hello" up the stairs.

The deception lasted 2½ years.

Pope's sister, Deborah Gaston, hadn't seen her sister in years, Owens said. Gaston called Cincinnati police Wednesday and reported a dead body at the home.

Inside the home, behind a basket blocking a door, police found Pope's remains.

"Standing outside, one could smell death," Owens said.

Some police wore masks because of the odor, Owens said.

"People who worked here have never seen this before," Owens said.

Pope's sister wasn't the first person to call police.

A woman from Pope's church called police on Halloween, after hearing third-hand that Pope was dead inside the home.

Police investigated, but they didn't have enough information to go into the house, Owens said.

The call from Pope's sister was enough, and police found Pope's body dressed in the white gown, seated in the chair and in front of the television, which was turned on, Owens said.

Pope had lupus, but it was unknown Monday whether that contributed to her death.

The coroner said he found no signs of abuse or foul play. Little body tissue remained, making it difficult to determine the cause of death, he said.

Owens has collected some tissue to test for chemicals and diseases.

He said he might never know how Pope died because of the body's condition.

Owens' office is working with police and prosecutors to determine whether any crimes were committed.

The caretaker and family members did not benefit in any way by keeping Pope's body.

"There was no money involved," Owens said. "There was no personal gain."

Pope's body did not appear to be abused, Owens said.

Neighbors had no idea a dead woman was a resident on their street.

"You mean to tell me the whole time I've owned this house, she's been in there?" said Jeff Sklar, who bought a house nine months ago a few doors from Pope's.

Shon Ward's relatives live in several homes along Davies Place.

"It's scary," Ward said. "That's ridiculous. I never expected it. ... I never suspected anything. It's a quiet street."

That's some crazy stuff there.

that's just gross.

she was probably watching cbs. that would kill anybody

CBS....ugh nuff said. That is gross, too gruesome.

Jim

rainstorm wrote:she was probably watching cbs. that would kill anybody

Crrrrrrrrrrrrreepy. That is just not normal at all. There must be more to the story. Maybe they all believe some sort of thing about after life, a wierd religion or something. Glad I am not their neighbors.

O Town wrote:Crrrrrrrrrrrrreepy. That is just not normal at all. There must be more to the story. Maybe they all believe some sort of thing about after life, a wierd religion or something. Glad I am not their neighbors.

Reincarnation was my 1st thought...

Creepy indeed.

Definitely creepy.

We had a double-whammy here -- fellow lived with BOTH his dead parents in the house:
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/p ... online.com

rainstorm wrote:she was probably watching cbs. that would kill anybody

LOL!

Reminds me of a William Faulkner short story...

GalvestonDuck wrote:We had a double-whammy here -- fellow lived with BOTH his dead parents in the house:
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/p ... online.com

I thought Halloween was in October?