Police in Peru seize an 800-year-old MUMMY rom a man who claimed it was his ... trends now

Police in Peru seize an 800-year-old MUMMY rom a man who claimed it was his ... trends now
Police in Peru seize an 800-year-old MUMMY rom a man who claimed it was his ... trends now

Police in Peru seize an 800-year-old MUMMY rom a man who claimed it was his ... trends now

Police in Peru have seized a mummified human between 600 and 800 years old from the portable cool bag of a man who claimed it was his 'girlfriend'.

Julio Cesar Bermejo, 26, a former food delivery man, claimed to have had the mummy at his home for three decades – and even slept with it in his bed. 

'At home, she's in my room, she sleeps with me. I take care of her,' he said in a video that went viral on social media. 

Bermejo was approached by police at the Mantaro viewpoint in the Peruvian city of Puno, known for its important archaeological significance. 

Although mummification is synonymous with Egypt, some of the world's oldest mummies date back 7,000 years to South America

Police in Peru have seized a mummified human from a former food delivery man who claimed to have had it at his home for three decades

Police in Peru have seized a mummified human from a former food delivery man who claimed to have had it at his home for three decades

Bermejo will remain in detention while investigators look into the case, a government official told AFP on Tuesday.

Mummy or skeleton? 

Unlike a skeleton or a fossil, a mummy is a dead body that retains some of the soft tissue it had when it was alive - skin, muscles or even organs. 

This tissue preservation can happen by accident or through human intervention. It occurs when bacteria and fungi are unable to grow on a corpse and cause its decay.

Historically, quick drying has been the most common method of mummification, since bacteria and fungi can't grow if there is no water. 

Source: PBS.org

Advertisement

Local resident Jhan commented: 'In which virtual store do you buy these things?', while Gabriela joked: 'My mummy order hasn't arrived, what should I do next?' 

Another, Juan Carlos, said: 'So he can't take his mummy out for a walk anymore?' 

Bermejo told local media that the mummy – who he called 'Juanita' and referred to as 'she' – was 'like my spiritual girlfriend' even though the remains once belonged to a man, according to authorities. 

According to the former delivery man, his father brought the mummy home 30 or 40 years ago, after plans to donate it to a museum failed. 

His family bought it for 2,000 Peruvian sol (£434), he said – at the time 'a lot of money'. 

According to Peru's Ministry of Culture, the pre-Hispanic relic was a 'mummified adult male individual'.

It was 'presumably from the eastern area of Puno', a region in the Peruvian Andes some 1,300 kilometers (more than 800 miles) southeast of Lima.

The pre-Hispanic relic was a 'mummified adult male individual, presumably from the eastern area of Puno', according to the Ministry of Culture

The pre-Hispanic relic was a 'mummified adult male individual, presumably from the eastern area of Puno', according to the Ministry of Culture 

Busted? Julio Cesar Bermejo, 26, a former food delivery man, who claims his family have owned the mummy for years

Busted? Julio Cesar Bermejo, 26, a former food delivery man, who claims his family have owned the mummy for years

'My mummy order hasn't arrived, what should I do next': The exact origin of the mummy is unclear

'My mummy order hasn't arrived, what should I do next': The exact origin of the mummy is unclear

This photo released on February 25, 2023 by Puno TV shows members of the Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Puno and the police investigating the mummy inside the cooler

This photo released on February 25, 2023 by Puno TV shows members of the

read more from dailymail.....

NEXT PlayStation 5 Pro will be an 'enormous' jump in tech with 8K resolutions and ... trends now