Family loses custody of mummy baby

by Angie Felton (Subscribe to Angie Felton's posts) Sep 21st 2007 12:31PM

Categories: Divorce & Custody, Money & Work, Fun & Activities, Media, Gadgets & Tech, That's Entertainment

People who work with children are used to hearing all sorts of crazy things, but when a little girl mentioned at daycare that her uncle kept a dead baby at his house, it drew the attention of law enforcement.

What turned up in the New Hampshire home of Charles Peavey was a bizarre and macabre family heirloom: the mummified remains of a stillborn infant displayed on a bureau.

According to Peavey, the 90 year old remains (referred to as "Baby John") is believed to be the stillborn child of a great-great uncle and have been passed down for generations. Baby John was treated as a family member and given cards on holidays and even a dried fish for a pet.

Police seized the mummy and tests confirmed the infant died of natural causes shortly after birth. However, once in the state's possession, the remains could not be released to anyone but family members. A local news station reported that Peavey sold the family silver to raise the $1,000 for DNA testing, but came up short and reluctantly gave up the fight for Baby John.

"It's (Baby John) 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.''

Baby John will be buried in a local cemetery.

Note to the uncles of the world: it is easier to keep the history of ancestors alive by passing down the family silver, than it is the actual, dead ancestor.

Source

Comments (8)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Joy 9-21-2007 @ 12:58PM

EEEEWWWWWWWWWW

kate 9-21-2007 @ 1:18PM

Um, call me sick, but "he was even given a dried fish as a pet" made me laugh out loud.

Kim Lashombe 9-21-2007 @ 1:25PM

Now that's just plain weird! There's some strange stuff going on in this old world of ours. My grandmother used to have a locket of red hair that had belonged to her grandmother. She kept it in this old black purse in the bottom drawer of her dresser. That really freaked me out as a kid. My cousins and I never went near that drawer.

Kim
http://www.scrapbooksalive.com

Maureen Kellis 9-21-2007 @ 1:43PM

LOL, funny and gross all at the same time! What's really creepy is that someone put that near the live baby.

Maureen
http://www.TheScentOfSuccess.com

Wendy 9-21-2007 @ 1:45PM

The first thought I had was how scary that must be to see sitting on a dresser and even odder to give it a "dried fish" for a pet.

Wendy
http://www.MommiesMagazine.com

Alice 9-21-2007 @ 1:51PM

Well maybe I am weird too, because I think it stinks that they can't keep the mummy baby. What does it hurt anything?

Eva 9-21-2007 @ 2:50PM

Although I guess it's fine they have this baby, I would rather not have seen it.

DaMoKi Bob 9-22-2007 @ 8:08AM

I have to throw in with the "it's ok" crowd. I do not see a lot of difference between a respectable display of a vase filled with Uncle Dusty's ashes, and Baby John's more recognizable pose. Well… ok, I see a difference… I meant a conceptual difference. In fact, I know people who uproot their pets for relocation when they move. We all just want our stuff!

Regarding the cards, numerous people post posthumous notes, cards, and items in the papers to past family members and no one takes notice. Many people drop all sorts of stuff off at the graves (filled with dead relatives!!). In fact, this is more practical: just walk in the next room and say hello….. and feed the fish.

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