Haunted house 'ghost' revealed
Liela Magnus , Beeld

Pretoria - Barefoot, wearing just a shirt and hugging one of his five
dogs, 60-year-old Desmond Smit watched in silence while police searched
and later removed the body of his embalmed mother from his home at the
weekend.

His mother, Talita, died in Eugene Marais Hospital in Pretoria of a
heart attack in 2001.
Smit made arrangements with a funeral parlour to embalm his mother's
body.
Her body was placed in a coffin in a refrigerated room next to the front
door.

The coffin's lid was kept open and the glass that sealed off the bottom
part of the coffin was decorated with dried flowers and a silver angel.
Some residents of Doreen Street thought Talita had been buried in the
garden and others speculated her remains were kept in an ordinary
fridge.
Another rumour was that she had been murdered in the house, just like
the previous owner.

Have to get permission
However, the truth came to light at the weekend when the coffin was
moved out of the refrigerated room and taken to Pretoria mortuary.

Sunnyside police station acting commander Gawie Alberts said it was not
unusual for family members to keep the remains of a loved one in special
refrigerated rooms, but they had to get permission from the
municipality.
"It's a family affair. We've got to establish if Smit got permission to
keep his mother's remains in the refrigerated room."

Police decided to move Talita's remains to the Pretoria mortuary after
establishing that the house had had no electricity for the past two
days.