{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T19:03:43Z","timestamp":1787771023939,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,23]],"date-time":"2020-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1600819200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Forensic Sciences"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>The discovery of mummified bodies in domestic settings is not unusual in the medico\u2010legal context. It is often a marker of social isolation, even in our urban modern society, and usually occurs among elderly people living alone or in precarious conditions. However, bereaved subjects can sometimes be found managing their grief by deliberately keeping the corpses of their loved ones at home. Investigation of these atypical cases can be challenging and often requires a multidisciplinary effort by different forensic specialists. We report two cases of people who lived for several months with the mummified remains of a relative. In both cases, the judge ordered a forensic psychiatry assessment of the survivors\u2019 competency and the reasons for this peculiar behavior, which is regarded as abnormal in our society. <jats:italic>Case 1<\/jats:italic> describes a shared psychosis, which developed out of a condition of extreme seclusion of the entire family. <jats:italic>Case 2<\/jats:italic> shows that even a mild personality disorder on which a series of traumatic events operates can trigger psychotic decompensation, causing extreme denial of the reality of death. The analysis of these cases contributes to our knowledge of the scantly studied phenomenon of \u201cLiving with the Dead\u201d and raises questions about the psychopathology behind it. It is useful to identify subjects who are more prone to developing this \u201cdeviant\u201d behavior, in order to distinguish people with mental illness from those who merely want to profit from the death of a loved one.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/1556-4029.14565","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,23]],"date-time":"2020-09-23T16:15:47Z","timestamp":1600877747000},"page":"407-412","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["The mourning process and \u201cliving with the dead\u201d: Two case reports and a review of the literature"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"66","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6281-4892","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Caterina","family":"Bosco","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Legal Medicine Unit Department of Public Health and Pediatric Sciences University of Turin Turin Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucia","family":"Tattoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"S.C. Medicina Legale U, A.O.U. Citt\u00e0 della Salute e della Scienza di Torino Turin Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giancarlo","family":"Di Vella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Legal Medicine Unit Department of Public Health and Pediatric Sciences University of Turin Turin Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"Ventura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences University of Genoa Genova Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alfredo","family":"Verde","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences University of Genoa Genova Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabriele","family":"Rocca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences University of Genoa Genova Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_5_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1556-4029.12076"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jflm.2018.10.006"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_4_1","first-page":"330","article-title":". Ten\u2010year\u2010old mummified corpse found in domestic setting in Rotterdam the Netherlands","volume":"7","author":"Van den Hondel K","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Forensic Res."},{"key":"e_1_2_5_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/hea0000605"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/PAF.0b013e318187df4b"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM199606273342606"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1520\/JFS15453J"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_9_1","unstructured":"McCracken\u2010RootesS.The various ways to say goodbye: Professional awareness of death related rituals 2016.https:\/\/sophia.stkate.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1637&context=msw_papers. Accessed 23 Jul 2020."},{"key":"e_1_2_5_10_1","first-page":"49","volume-title":"Death, grief, and mourning","author":"Gorer G","year":"1977"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2190\/478B-D69G-E714-CYX5"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-954X.1992.tb03387.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jflm.2019.02.002"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/00000433-200209000-00007"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/PAF.0b013e31805f67e5"},{"issue":"08","key":"e_1_2_5_16_1","first-page":"9","article-title":"Diogenes syndrome: A Special manifestation of hoarding disorder","volume":"12","author":"Khan S","year":"2017","journal-title":"AJPRJ."},{"key":"e_1_2_5_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.1159\/000475688","volume-title":"Neurologic\u2010psychiatric syndromes in focus. Part I \u2010 From neurology to psychiatry","author":"Assal F","year":"2018"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.2014.13081132"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_19_1","first-page":"164","article-title":"Mummification in a Chinese patient with grief: A morbid symptom or a cultural practice?","volume":"23","author":"So J","year":"2013","journal-title":"East Asian Arch Psychiatry."},{"key":"e_1_2_5_20_1","first-page":"55","volume-title":"On grief and grieving: finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss","author":"K\u00fcbler\u2010Ross E","year":"2014"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_21_1","first-page":"15","volume-title":"Attachment style and bereavement reaction: Coping with the stress","author":"Keogh L","year":"2008"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0010-440X(89)90115-6"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.130.1.23"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_24_1","first-page":"12","volume-title":"Bereavement: Studies of grief in adult life","author":"Parkes CM","year":"2009"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1556-4029.12264"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm02"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_5_27_1","first-page":"369","article-title":"Folie a deux and the courts","volume":"38","author":"Newman WJ","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Am Acad Psychiatry Law."},{"key":"e_1_2_5_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4103\/0253-7176.131002"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_5_29_1","first-page":"42","article-title":"The social and treatment consequences of a shared delusional disorder in a homeless family","volume":"8","author":"Christensen RC","year":"2011","journal-title":"Innov Clin Neurosci."},{"key":"e_1_2_5_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4103\/0019-5545.58899"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_31_1","first-page":"95","volume-title":"The psychological birth of the human infant: Symbiosis and individuation","author":"Mahler MS","year":"2000"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/00030651040520010601"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_33_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Odi et amo: Discursive strategies and ambiguities in the narratives of violence","volume":"3","author":"Poppi FIM","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur J Criminol."},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_2_5_34_1","first-page":"86","article-title":"Le ranz des vaches. Nostalgia and migration: a clinical\u2010criminological analysis","volume":"13","author":"Francia A","year":"2019","journal-title":"Rassegna Ital di Criminol."},{"key":"e_1_2_5_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scijus.2015.12.003"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00223890701693819"}],"container-title":["Journal of Forensic Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/1556-4029.14565","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1111\/1556-4029.14565","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/1556-4029.14565","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,3]],"date-time":"2023-09-03T07:50:10Z","timestamp":1693727410000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/1556-4029.14565"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,23]]},"references-count":35,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/1556-4029.14565"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/1556-4029.14565","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-1198","1556-4029"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0022-1198","type":"print"},{"value":"1556-4029","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,23]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2020-06-25","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2020-08-10","order":1,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2020-09-23","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}