LONDON -- A 91-year-old man whose relatives allegedly tried to smuggle his corpse onto a plane died of natural causes up to 12 hours before they were supposed to depart, according to British police.
Willi Jarant's widow and stepdaughter were arrested last Saturday on suspicion of failing to give notification of a death, according to a Greater Manchester Police official.
The BBC and other British media reported that the women placed Jarant into a wheelchair and covered his face with sunglasses in a bid to get him aboard a flight to Berlin at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Gitta Jarant and her daughter Anke Anusic deny the charges. They say they thought he was asleep. Police say the two are free on bail while the case in investigated.
It's believed the women were trying to evade the costly process of repatriating human remains abroad. Bodies being repatriated by air are required to be contained inside hermetically-sealed zinc-lined coffins and kept in the cargo hold for the duration of the journey.
Willi Jarant's widow and stepdaughter were arrested last Saturday on suspicion of failing to give notification of a death, according to a Greater Manchester Police official.
The BBC and other British media reported that the women placed Jarant into a wheelchair and covered his face with sunglasses in a bid to get him aboard a flight to Berlin at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Gitta Jarant and her daughter Anke Anusic deny the charges. They say they thought he was asleep. Police say the two are free on bail while the case in investigated.
It's believed the women were trying to evade the costly process of repatriating human remains abroad. Bodies being repatriated by air are required to be contained inside hermetically-sealed zinc-lined coffins and kept in the cargo hold for the duration of the journey.
