After 128 years of being on display at a funeral home in Pennsylvania, a mummified man known as “Stoneman Willie” is finally going to receive a proper burial.
The man, whose true identity was hidden for many years, was arrested for pickpocketing and died in a local jail in 1895 from kidney failure.
Auman’s Funeral Home in Reading, Pennsylvania, revealed that the body was accidentally mummified by an undertaker experimenting with new techniques.
Dressed in formal attire, Stoneman Willie has remained in a coffin, holding a striking, if somewhat gruesome, preserved appearance with hair, teeth, and skin intact.
Although he gave a false name at the time of his arrest, recent investigations using historical documents have revealed his real identity. This name will soon be on his tombstone when he is laid to rest.
Funeral director Kyle Blankenbiller said: “We don’t refer to him as a mummy. We refer to him as our friend Willie.”
In an attempt to study the effects of the experimental mummy techniques, the funeral home previously got permission from the state to keep the body rather than bury it.
On the eve of Willie’s burial, Reading’s citizens walked the streets to mark the city’s 275th anniversary.
As a special tribute, Stoneman Willie’s coffin was included in the city’s parade, transported on a motorcycle hearse.
Compiled by staff writer
Pictured above: Willie
Image source: Twitter
