A 76-year-old widower tried to use holy water, prayers and spells to revive her dead husband for more than four months – despite being a doctor.
Neighbours eventually found the mummified body of the 87-year-old on the sofa in her living room, in Volgograd, Russia.
Ex-colleagues of the retired physician said she had no record of psychological problems but had recently become “addicted” to a TV show called The Battle of Extrasensory with presenter Leonid Konovalov.
They believe this may have been why she believed she could bring her husband back to life.
The man hurt his leg last year and became housebound. He died in April, but she pretended to her sons, neighbours and former work colleagues that he was still alive.
She used holy water and uttered “prayers and spells” in the expectation she could “revive him”.
The doctor, who has not been named, was a respected medic in the city over many years, said head of Volgograd office for Russian Investigative Committee Milena Frantsuzova.
She allowed neighbours into her flat after a running tap had flooded apartments below.
“She let them in and neighbours were shocked after seeing almost completely mummified body of her husband lying on the sofa,” said a local report.
“The flat was clean and neatly arranged, they said, but the smell from the body was quite strong.
“The couple’s neighbours said that this shocked them deeply.
“Some said they had previously noticed the smell but did not pay attention to it.”
mirror.co.uk
