The heat wave of June 2011 was possible date of death of the mummified woman in Malaga

The last trace of the old woman's life was 14 years ago, when a sudden rise in temperature was recorded, which could be the cause of her death

Juan Cano

Málaga

Thursday, 20 March 2025, 19:56

It is only a hypothesis, but at the moment it is the main one and probably the only one that can be supported by objective data. A woman whose mummified corpse was found by a squatter and his daughter in a house in Camino de Suárez died 14 years ago, probably during a heat wave.

The National Police investigators are trying, first of all, to fully identify the body. Everything suggests that it is the owner of the house, Elisa P. G, born in 1924. Apparently, she had no children. Officers have located a nephew of the woman who lives in another Spanish province.

The body was found late on Monday 17 March, when a man tried to squat in Elisa's home, a property that had been unoccupied for years. The neighbours were not surprised because she used to travel and had lived in New York for years. The flats in the 80-owner community have seen a lot of turnover and many of the residents are foreigners.

The man, who is about to be evicted from his current home, forced open the door of the property and went inside with his 11-year-old daughter. They found the body of the old woman lying on the sofa in the living room. It was mummified and practically reduced to a skeleton, as SUR reported on 19 March.

The investigators were struck by the fact that the windows of the flat were wide open, which led to two conclusions. Firstly, it would explain why there was no smell of putrefaction in the building. Secondly, it would indicate that the death occurred in summer.

After the discovery, the officers inspected the woman's flat, located on the seventh floor of number 41 Camino de Suárez, looking for any sign of life. Among the deceased's papers, a document was found that would prove that she was alive in June 2011. After that date she was never heard from again.

In the databases of the state meteorological agency it is recorded that at the end of June 2011 there were several days of terral that preceded a heat wave - three or more days with temperatures well above average - that spread over several Spanish provinces, including Malaga. Although it remains a hypothesis that can only be refuted by an anthropological study or data provided by her relative, investigators suspect that the death occurred in this context.

Top 50

Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.

Reporta un error en esta noticia