A mummified man is set to receive a proper burial after being on display at a funeral home in Pennsylvania, USA for 128 years.
Known as Stoneman Willie, the man was an alcoholic who di£d of kidney failure in a local jail after being arrested for pickpocketing on November 19, 1895, SkyNews reports.
He was accidentally mummified by a mortician experimenting with new embalming techniques, according to Auman’s Funeral Home.
Dressed in a suit with a bow tie, Stoneman Willie is displayed in a coffin with a red sash across his chest. His hair and teeth remain intact, and his skin has taken on a leathery appearance.
Having given a fake name at the time of his arrest, the man’s identity remained unknown for many years and local officials were unable to contact any relatives.
But using historical documents, Stoneman Willie’s real name has been identified and will be inscribed at the bottom of his tombstone when his body is b¥ried on Saturday, October 7.
“We don’t refer to him as a mummy. We refer to him as our friend Willie. He has just been such an icon, such a storied part of not only Reading’s past but certainly its present,” funeral director Kyle Blankenbiller said.
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