ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO— A New Mexico woman has been taken to a mental hospital after a shocking find at her home. Authorities say her husband’s mummified body was found inside a bedroom closet.
Deputies showed up to the home to evict the owners last month, when they made the discovery.
Police found the body of the man on a mattress in the closet, with a pillow propped under his head, and he was tucked in under blankets. The man’s wife told police he died in April of 2015, more than two years earlier.
The woman also told police her husband suffered from chronic back pain so he often slept in that closet. He had reportedly been coughing up bile, but refused to go the hospital.
The man’s son, Thomas Huerta, who lives in California now, is shocked by the discovery.
“I never would have imagined that he would be laying in the closet into a mummified state,” said Huerta, “I try not to think about it. it is very difficult.”
Neighbors say they noticed the man hadn’t been around, but when they asked his wife, she only told them he was preparing for the ministry.
Authorities are now trying to determine how the man died. It’s unclear if the woman will face criminal charges.
