Cops Make Unusual Find in Ex-Food Delivery Man's Bag

Man in Peru called 'Juanita' his 'spiritual girlfriend'; police say it was an ancient mummy
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2023 9:40 AM CST
Man Found With Ancient Mummy He Called His 'Girlfriend'
The mummy found inside a food delivery bag.   (Peru's Ministry of Culture)

Peruvian police have arrested a 26-year-old man allegedly found carrying an ancient mummy—whom he reportedly described as his "spiritual girlfriend"— in his food delivery bag. Police said three men were acting drunk at a park, also described as an archaeological site, in the southern region of Puno, per the BBC and CNN. When they investigated, they allegedly found Julio Cesar Bermejo with the mummy he'd named "Juanita" and called "a kind of spiritual girlfriend," the BBC reports. "At home, she's in my room, she sleeps with me. I take care of her," the man reportedly said in a video, adding he'd taken it out to show off to his friends, per CNN.

But "it's not a Juanita, it's a Juan," says a specialist from Peru's Ministry of Culture, per Phys.org. The ministry, which seized the remains with the goal of "protecting and preserving this heritage," explains the pre-Hispanic mummy is of a man older than 45, "presumably from the eastern area of Puno," who died 600 to 800 years ago. Bermejo claimed his father had obtained the mummy some 30 years ago, though the circumstances are unclear. As the mummy is arranged in the fetal position, the former food delivery man was able to carry it in his insulated delivery bag, which carried the label of PedidosYa, a popular food delivery app in Latin America, per CNN. Bermejo remains in police custody. (More mummy stories.)

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