Corpse's cunning disguise of sunglasses and wheelchair doesn't fool airline staff

**Marv** · April 6th, 2010, 09:01 AM

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...l-airport.html

Two women have been arrested after they allegedly tried to smuggle their dead relative on to a passenger plane.

The corpse was pushed in on a wheelchair - complete with sunglasses - to try to fool staff at the check in desk at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, it is claimed.

The man's body had been driven to the airport in a taxi after the women told the driver he was asleep.

But as his two companions attempted to check the dead man in for a flight to Berlin on Saturday, staff became suspicious and alerted the authorities. The two women were arrested at the scene.

It is understood the 91-year-old German national had died a day earlier, and an attempt was being made to smuggle his body back to his homeland.

A source said: 'The airport staff at the check in were not happy with the situation.

The women, aged 44 and 66, are currently being questioned 'on suspicion of failing to give notification of a death'.
[...]

It is believed the two women attempted to smuggle the body back to avoid repatriation fees, which can be as much as £3,000.[...]

'We are still investigating the exact circumstances of the death, but don't believe it is murder or manslaughter at this stage.'

**Pixie** · April 6th, 2010, 09:26 AM

Hahah

**nopatience** · April 6th, 2010, 09:32 AM

Wow, Weekend at Bernie's in real life..... the world really is full of dumbasses!

**OMalley** · April 6th, 2010, 09:38 AM

Yeah that was my first thought too - weekend at Bernie's. Silly people. I can understand why they tried to do it, though. It's really expensive to ship a corpse!

I imagine that passenger could've been less offensive than some I've been seated near!

**Dneilz** · April 6th, 2010, 10:19 AM

um, gross.

**TwiztidAngel** · April 6th, 2010, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by nopatience

Wow, Weekend at Bernie's in real life..... the world really is full of dumbasses!

that was my very 1st thought at reading the title

**Saffron** · April 6th, 2010, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by OMalley

Yeah that was my first thought too - weekend at Bernie's. Silly people. I can understand why they tried to do it, though. It's really expensive to ship a corpse!

I imagine that passenger could've been less offensive than some I've been seated near!

It IS expensive to ship a corpse... that's why you have them cremated if you can and then take them home... that's what we did with my husband's grandparents. For an 8 hour car drive away from where they wanted to be buried, they wanted an extra $5-6,000. So we had them cremated and then we drove them to the cemetery ourselves and buried their urns. Less hassle on all ends and saved about $10,000 each. We still had a normal funeral and everything... the only objector was one of the Great-Uncles who declared that they couldn't be resurrected when Jesus came again because they no longer had bodies... even his own minister told him that he didn't believe that... some people just like to make noise to hear themselves speak.

**Valasca** · April 6th, 2010, 10:34 AM

Heh. I might have done the same.

**Sister Iroz** · April 6th, 2010, 11:01 AM

Two British women who allegedly tried to smuggle a dead relative onto a flight out of England were arrested, Sky News reported Tuesday.

The suspects pushed the 91-year-old man in a wheelchair and covered his face with sunglasses during a bid to board him on their flight to Berlin, sources said.

The women, aged 41 and 66, were said to have protested that the deceased was merely asleep when probed by officials Saturday at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

It is believed the pair somehow managed to ferry the corpse in a taxi from their home in Oldham, northwestern England, to the terminal.

But the alleged attempt to smuggle the body to Germany was foiled after airport staff started asking questions.

"Police at Liverpool John Lennon Airport were alerted to the death of a 91-year-old man in the terminal building," a police spokesman said.

"Two women aged 41 and 66 were arrested on suspicion of failing to give notification of death. They have been released on bail until June 1, 2010. The coroner has been informed and police are continuing with their inquiries."

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpps/news/dp...100406_6927334

oops I see now it's already on there. SORRY!

**AngelFire** · April 6th, 2010, 12:09 PM

It's the English version of Weekend at Bernie's.

**cubby** · April 6th, 2010, 01:04 PM

WWWAAAHHHH!! That was my joke!!! LOL

Poor man, I wonder if getting him to Berlin would have benefitted them monetarily somehow, maybe just keeping him "alive" until they could get power of attorney or something.

**jus shaking my head** · April 6th, 2010, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by Saffron

It IS expensive to ship a corpse... that's why you have them cremated if you can and then take them home... that's what we did with my husband's grandparents. For an 8 hour car drive away from where they wanted to be buried, they wanted an extra $5-6,000. So we had them cremated and then we drove them to the cemetery ourselves and buried their urns. Less hassle on all ends and saved about $10,000 each. We still had a normal funeral and everything... the only objector was one of the Great-Uncles who declared that they couldn't be resurrected when Jesus came again because they no longer had bodies... even his own minister told him that he didn't believe that... some people just like to make noise to hear themselves speak.

It cost over $9000.00 to fly my daughter from NC to KY. May have been a little cheaper if the funeral home who went to pick her up to take to the airport could have found her. Lenoir County, sent them one place and she wasn't there. I sat here all that night thinking she was all ready gone.

They "found" her the next day. She would have found it funny.

My father was cremated in MO. He was shipped to me by UPS. Due to an ice storm he was lost in Menphis, TN. took me two weeks to finally get him.

**sanityslipping** · April 6th, 2010, 02:48 PM

I imagine that passenger could've been less offensive than some I've been seated near!

that wholly depends on how long it takes a dead body to start to smell (although, it could still be less offensive than some living folks I know... hygiene ppl, hygiene!!)

**Dakota Valkyrie** · April 9th, 2010, 09:51 PM

A woman and daughter accused of trying to smuggle the body of a dead relative on to a plane today claimed: We’re innocent.

Gitta Elke Jarant and daughter Anke Anusic, from Oldham, were quizzed by police after Gitta’s husband was found to be dead at the check-in desk at Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport.

Police say Kurt Willi Jarant, 91, had been dead for a day and arrested Gitta, 66, and Anke, 41, on suspicion of failing to notify a death.

They were accused of trying to smuggle the body back to Germany in a bizarre attempt to avoid £3,000 repatriation fees.

But the women say they did not know that Mr Jarant - who suffered from Alzheimer’s - had died. They say they had taken him - along with three of Anke’s children - to the airport in a taxi ahead of a family trip to Berlin.

They pushed him in his wheelchair to the easyJet check-in desk. When staff quizzed Gitta and Anke about Mr Jarant - who was wearing a hat and sunglasses - they said he was asleep.

But further investigation revealed the former pilot and German soldier, who is known as Willi, was dead. Anke, of Franklin Close, Oldham, said today: “We haven’t done anything wrong but the police said he had been dead for a day. “The suggestion of this is disgusting and completely ludicrous.

“He came in the taxi with us - he was a bit pale but he was moving. He did not talk much because of his condition but we are certain he was not dead when we started our journey.

“A person who has been dead for 24 hours is stiff and blue - Willi was neither of these and we think he must have died during the taxi journey.

“When we got to the airport we went to the check-in desk and airport staff came to help because Willi was in a wheelchair. I went to sort the luggage and when I came back the staff told me he was dead. Mum was crying and we were all very upset as it was such a shock.

“The police arrived and they took us to the police station. They told us we were being arrested because we had not reported the death to the coroner but why would we report him to the coroner when he wasn’t dead?”

Gitta, who is disabled, and Mr Jarant moved from Germany to Oldham in 2004 to live with Anke, who is Mr Jarant’s step-daughter. Anke and her four children had settled there two years earlier.

The family say Mr Jarant was wearing sunglasses because his eyes were sensitive to light.
[...]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....lead_innocence

**Dakota Valkyrie** · September 6th, 2010, 08:26 PM

wo women who allegedly tried to smuggle their elderly dead relative on a flight to Germany will not be prosecuted because he may have only been dead for 12 hours, authorities said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/tr...rosecuted.html

**cubby** · September 6th, 2010, 11:56 PM

...and that makes a difference, why? They knew he was dead and that what they werre doing was wrong, so it shouldn't matter, in my opinion, that he was only dead 12 hours. That just doesn't really even make sense.