Skeleton Wearing Covid Mask Found in Storage Room He Probably Used as Home

L'immeuble à Besançon où a été retrouvé le squelette. Capture Google Street View

Le 6 août 2024, un squelette a été retrouvé dans le cagibi d'un immeuble dans le quartier de Planoise à Besançon en Franche-Comté. 

The skeleton of a person wearing a surgical mask was discovered in a cramped room in a disused building in Besançon, public prosecutor Étienne Manteaux said on Monday.

A death dating back to the covid-19 pandemic

According to L'Est républicain, the body was discovered on August 6 in a large block of flats in the working-class district of Planoise, which is plagued by drug trafficking.

The men's clothing and the wearing of a mask suggest that the person is a man who died during the covid-19 pandemic covid. "His death could date back to the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021", said the Besançon prosecutor.

An investigation opened

An investigation into the causes of death was opened and an autopsy carried out, revealing injuries to the skull but without it being possible to suggest that they were the cause of death, he added.

DNA samples were taken in the hope to identify the deceased, said Étienne Manteaux. According to the regional daily, the building where he was found was gradually emptied of its inhabitants in preparation for its demolition.

The man, who could be a marginal "possibly a drug addict" according to the newspaper, could have taken up residence in this storage room.