Latest news with #mummified
The Sun
19-05-2025
- The Sun
Bodysnatcher who dressed mummified remains of 29 girls as dolls to stay locked up after plea from psychiatric doc
A SICK bodysnatcher who dressed up mummified remains of 29 girls as dolls will remain locked up in a psychiatric hospital, a Russian court has ruled. Anatoly Moskvin, 55, turned the dead children into 'dolls', dressing them in stockings, clothes and knee-length boots. 7 7 He was first arrested in 2011 when a series of desecrated graves of girls aged three to 11 led to a months-long manhunt across Novgorod, Russia. When cops searched the flat Moskvin shared with his parents, they discovered the bodies of 29 girls. Each had been mummified, dressed in children's clothes, and arranged like dolls in his home. The former academic claimed that he practised black magic and believed he could one day revive the children using science. Moskvin, now 58, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was ruled unfit to stand trial in 2012. He has been held in a secure Russian psychiatric unit ever since. Despite several pleas made by Moskvin's lawyers, a Russian court has now confirmed that the sick man would remain under forced detention. His term was extended after the chief physician of the psychiatric hospital filed a petition against his release - possibly due to his behaviour. Moskvin confessed to 44 counts of abusing the graves of girls aged three to 12. In Soviet times, he worked as a translator for military intelligence in the Red Army, and later wrote several history books. Horror moment sisters are found chained to their beds where 'Brazil's Fritzl' dad 'drugged & raped them for a year' The historian, described in court as a genius and the author of scientific papers, gave various explanations for his deeply disturbing behaviour. Moskvin told his interrogators he was waiting for science to find ways for these girls to live again, as well as wanting to be an expert in making mummies. He chillingly said to the family members of the dead children: "You abandoned your girls in the cold, and I brought them home and warmed them up." Moskvin added that he had needed biological material for cloning and insisted his actions were not for any sexual motive. He told investigators: "I felt sorry for the dead children, who could still live on. "So I kept them until the time when science would have advanced, and revived them." 7 7 7 His mother Elvira told the court: "We saw these dolls, but we did not suspect there were dead bodies inside. We thought it was his hobby to make such big dolls and did not see anything wrong with it.' Parents of the dead children have pleaded he remain locked up for life, fearing he'll return to his sinister old habit, which saw him living with some children's remains for up to ten years. In the early years after his arrest, he frequently gave interviews and made bizarre confessions, including that he had slept in Muslim graveyards and visited more than 750 cemeteries. He claimed: "I lay down in one coffin, and slid another one on top. And I got a good night's sleep. And no one noticed." In 2021, his lawyers tried to argue that he should be transferred to outpatient care and had plans to write a book and work as a language teacher in Moscow. But the court rejected the plea, as it did again last week. The court sided with the hospital that he remain under psychiatric supervision in detention until November.
The Sun
08-05-2025
- General
- The Sun
Mystery of 1,000-year-old ‘mummified dragon' that was discovered by samurai warrior is finally solved
THE mystery of a 1,000-year-old mummified "dragon" stashed among the treasures of the Japanese royal family has finally been solved. The remains of the 'rainbow dragon' are said to have been discovered by a legendary samurai warrior in 1429. 7 7 Yoshinori Ashikaga uncovered the mystical beast during a visit to Nara's Todaiji temple. The samurai is said to have cut a piece from the Ranjatai – a rare and treasured piece of agarwood. Then he 'saw something in the shape of a small dragon' dried by the sun, a monk recalled. The dragon's remains have been stashed among the Japanese Royal family 's treasures at the Shosoin Treasure House in Nara, Japan ever since. Now, a new study has solved the mystery of the creature's true nature - using X-ray technology and radiocarbon dating. Close comparison with known species found that the 'dragon' was in fact a Japanese marten - a weasel-like mammal. The authors wrote: 'The two premolars are clearly visible, and this characteristic indicates that it is a species of the Martes genus.' The creature was likely a full-grown female marten, measuring 40cm in length. Radiocarbon testing suggests that the remains date back to the mid-11th to the mid-12th century – a time when the treasure house faced multiple repairs. It is thought that the animal may have entered the building during repairs, got trapped, and died - becoming mummified. I own an antique weapon that's been in my family for years - Pawn Stars said a secret pocket makes it worth $8k Or it may have been brought in deliberately – since the specimen is missing its forelegs and they have never been located. The "dragon" remains have been shrouded in mystery for almost 600 years. Legend has it that after the mystical creature was added to the treasure house it would rain every time it was opened. And it seems this is still the case with researchers from Tokyo having to reschedule one of their visits due to heavy rains. 7 Conservationist Mami Tsuru of the Shosoin Treasure House confirmed she believed the 'dragon' to be the same one found by Yoshinori Ashikaga. She said: 'The age determination has significantly increased the possibility that the mummy is the sun-dried dragon-looking object recorded in the document from the Muromachi Period'. She added: 'We believe this is a good example of how Shosoin has protected not only beautiful items, but also all the items inside the repository.' Other 'dragons' in the collection were also analysed and were found to be parts of a Kobe mole, crow, and pigeon. 7 7
