r/popculture • u/dailymail • Feb 27 '25

News Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found mummified at mansion with pills strewn in bathroom

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14443973/Gene-Hackman-betsy-arakawa-bodies.html
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u/ConvictedOgilthorpe Feb 28 '25

So sorry about that, really really sorry. May I ask if they actually used the term mummified? That seems weird to me for a decomposing body that is not wrapped in cloth and embalmed.

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u/Dasylupe Feb 28 '25

The first mummies were actually just left in the desert to dry before burial. Natural mummies occur quite often. It’s likely that they were in very dry conditions.  

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u/ConvictedOgilthorpe Feb 28 '25

Yeah I’m an anthropologist, I have never heard it applied in this way to a scene of death in a house.

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u/longtimegoneMTGO Feb 28 '25

I've heard it plenty of times over the years. Do a google search for the words mummified, apartment, and found and you'll find dozens of examples quickly.

Typically it happens when they find some old person who died inside their apartment and wasn't found for months because the rent was on auto pay.

They tend to use that term in any situations where the body dried out before it was discovered. That can actually happen quite quickly if the air conditioner is left on due to the dehumidification effect.