German Woman Slept Alongside Mummified Remains of Mother for 5 Years

The hands of a mummy in a Mexican museum. According to the reports the old woman had been kept so long her remains had mummified. (Reuters)

A German woman slept alongside the mummified remains of her mother for five years, German police said.

Police said they found the remains of the woman, who died aged 83 in 2009, in a double bed in the Munich flat of her daughter, 55, reports The Local.

A social worker told police that he suspected there was something amiss in the flat, after the building's manager said locals had not seen the pensioner for years.

He told officers that he phoned the daughter several times to try to gain access to the flat, but was met with excuses. When he visited the flat in person, the woman did not answer the door and he alerted police.

Emergency services forced their way into the flat and found the remains of the woman, which had been kept so long they had become mummified. They were found in a double bed which the daughter also slept in.

Under police questioning, the woman said that her mother died in 2009. She has since been admitted to a psychiatric institution.

An autopsy found no evidence of foul play in the mother's death.