Baitoa, Santiago gravedigger Jose Benito Vasquez was arrested earlier this week, after relatives protested after their late mother’s body was exhumed. The mummified body of 86-year old Dalia Catalina Valerio, who died on 16 September 1999, was found outside her coffin. The body was in surprisingly good condition despite the long time since the death. One of the woman’s daughters, Duma Deylia, protested the exhumation without prior authorization from the relatives, who then removed the body from the cemetery.
Police officers from Santiago are investigating the case. Meanwhile, Vasquez was arrested for questioning and the remains were taken to the Jose Maria Cabral y Baez Hospital morgue.
As reported in Listin Diario, the remains of the woman were taken out of the tomb vault on the orders of a man named Ramon who had lent them the niche provisionally. After he asked for it back, the municipal authorities ordered the exhumation on the grounds that the space was needed for a new burial.
The body has since been reburied in another niche that was lent by a relative, as reported in El Caribe.
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2015/4/8/362797/Apresan-a-zacateca-desenterro-cadaver-momificado-de-mujer
http://noticia.do/trasladan-a-morgue-cadaver-anciana-desenterrada-en-baitoa/