Boy finds mummified corpse hanging in closet

WTVR ^ | 6:55 am, June 17, 2014 | CNN Wire

[ConservingFreedom]

DAYTON, Ohio – In an empty, dusty house, a boy stumbled upon a classic horror movie scenario this week: A mummified corpse hanging by the neck from a rope.

And officials say it had been there for five years.

Until the boy made his way inside the ramshackle house in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday, neighbors didn’t think anyone lived there, said spokesman Ken Betz from the Montgomery County Coroner’s office.

They thought the house was abandoned, and it looked that way.

The front door was papered with citations for the overgrown yard, and no one came and went from the address. The home was unfurnished.

Inside, however, was the body of Edward Brunton, hanging from a rope in the closet.

The closet shielded his body from rapid decomposition, animals and insects, resulting in the mummy-like condition the boy found it in.

“Because of the location where he was found, it was relatively protected, sunlight protected, temperature protected and low humidity,” coroner Kent Harshbarger told CNN affiliate WDTN.

Brunton died before he could have much contact with his neighbors. He was also estranged from his family and friends, thus no one ever reported him missing, Betz said.

The boy’s mother, Michelle McGrath, went into the house to investigate. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she entered the room that housed the closet.

“When I crossed the threshold of the room, is when I smelled it,” she said.

She called the police.

Authorities found identification documents on Brunton’s body. His estranged brother, who still recognized him, confirmed it was him.

[ConservingFreedom]

This guy finally came out of the closet.

[AnAmericanMother]

Imagine having to identify the mummified corpse of your brother! Yikes!

My husband had to identify his dad because he didn't want his Mom to have to do it.

[facedown]

...neighbors didn’t think anyone lived there...

They were correct.

[NFHale]

“...Brunton died before he could have much contact with his neighbors. He was also estranged from his family and friends, thus no one ever reported him missing, ...”

Helluva way to die... Hope he found more peace wherever his soul is, than he had in life.

Damn, that’s rough.

[PGR88]

Imagine having to identify the mummified corpse of your brother! Yikes!

Considering they were estranged and the guy didn't care enough to know his brother's whereabouts for many years, or whether he was dead or alive - I suspect it wasn't as agonizing as you might think!

[Lurker]

+1.

[GOP_Party_Animal]

LOL! Geez...

[YourAdHere]

Five years? I’m guessing this was around November 6, 2008?

[AnAmericanMother]

Still your brother. And mummified is creepy. Have you ever seen pictures of those crypts in Sicily?

[from occupied ga]

Until the boy made his way inside the ramshackle house in Dayton, Ohio,

What was the "boy" doing in the house? It wasn't his parents'. It wasn't his relatives'. Was he looking for something to steal? Something to vandalize?

[FreeAtlanta]

I thought the same thing.

[AnAmericanMother]

When I was a kid, abandoned houses were a magnet for exploration.

We never trashed anything or vandalized anything, we just wanted to see what was inside. Don't think things have changed very much, because my son and a friend went exploring in an abandoned church building near our house . . . which was great til he fell through the floor and had to explain the six-inch laceration in his leg to his Mom. :-)

[SZonian]

Uhm...curiousity maybe? I did such things as a kid and never stole or vandalized anything...I just thought it was an adventure of sorts...

Flame away nannies...

[AnAmericanMother]

Exactly. It was an adventure although we never found anything at all . . . and thank heavens we never found a mummified corpse in a closet. Would have been scarred for life . . .

[CrazyIvan]

“When I was a kid, abandoned houses were a magnet for exploration.”

Same here but we never found something really cool like a mummy!

[SZonian]

I think my purpose was to find a mummy or something cool...watching television programs, reading comics, etc...my imagination was a very fertile field.

What’s not to like about exploring a “spooky” house...

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken anyone? WOOT!

[AD from SpringBay]

Yep - what you said. Did some exploring back in the day but it was a different and, I think, less cynical and overprotect world back then. Thing is, now that many cities are seeing more and more dwellings empty of occupants, there’s no telling what might be found.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Abandoned houses hold an allure for young kids. I think it is the "haunted house" thing. We used to sneak into abandoned ones years ago, not looking for something to steal but just to look around.

I still like to prowl around old abandoned farm houses. My sister-in-law found a box of old 78 RPM records in one empty for decades, and a co-worker found an old Meridian Arms Pistol in another.

I got the scare of my life in one years ago! I was prowling around an old abandoned farm house that was falling apart when I heard a running noise upstairs! I had my New Browning Hi-Power with me so went up to investigate. I found nothing. I went back downstairs when I heard the running noise again and down the stairs came a raccoon flying like his tail was on fire. He ran out through a hole in the wall but still managed to scare the tar out of me!

[njslim]

In mY town didn’t have abandoned house, had an old tunnel which ran under HS football field - rumor was old smuggling
tunnel for runaway slaves on underground railroad

Went exploring it one day with my friends - did not have a
flashlight so made torches from rolled up newspapers we
found

Almost suffocated ourselves with the smoke....

Was later bricked up - pity

[OrangeHoof]

This guy finally came out of the closet.

He wasn't bothering anybody; just hanging around.