The littlest mummy

When it comes to family heirlooms, not all are going to have the cash value of great-grandma’s diamond Tiffany watch or the fuzzy sentimentality of grand-dad’s SS uniform. But for pure creep factor, the Peavey family of Concord, New Hampshire, is inarguably unsurpassed. Shame the courts screwed that up for them because Christmas gatherings won’t be the same without Baby John’s mummified remains staring down from the mantelpiece.

Believed to be the once-mortal coil of a great-great-uncle’s baby, Charles Peavey says there was “no weirdness going on” with the relic. He says it has long been respected, treated more as family than keepsake. When a niece mentioned the adorable corpse to her day-care teacher, though, police seized Baby John and Peavey found himself arguing its merits to the state. With foul play ruled out, a probate judge insists kinship be proven before he’ll release Baby John to the Peaveys, or else the child’s remains will have to be buried. Peavey says he can’t afford DNA testing to prove the family’s claim and doesn’t plan to appeal the judge’s decision.

by Scott Saxon