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COFFIN

The Wire

Stolen remains of Austrian billionaire returned

A coffin containing the body of an Austrian billionaire has been returned to his family, more than a year after it was stolen from a graveyard by thieves who blackmailed the relatives for $150,000 (euro100,000), police said Wednesday.

Austrian gets world record for 707,335 coffins

An Austrian carpenter has found a macabre way of getting into the Guinness Book of Records: Over a 30-year career, he's built 707,335 coffins.

Husband's coffin kills woman on way to cemetery

Police say a woman has died on the way to a cemetery when a traffic accident hurled her husband's coffin against the back of her neck. Police said 67-year old Marciana Silva Barcelos was in the front passenger seat of the hearse when the accident occurred Monday in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Man wins prize for building his own coffin

Grady Hunter will take his prize-winning entry in the N.C. State Fair to the grave. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that Hunter won a blue ribbon in this year's crafts and hobbies competition by making his own coffin.

Illinois man orders custom beer-can coffin

Bill Bramanti will love Pabst Blue Ribbon eternally, and he's got the custom-made beer-can casket to prove it. "I actually fit, because I got in here," said Bramanti of South Chicago Heights.

Woman: Soldier's Casket on Baggage Cart

The Army is investigating a woman's claim that a soldier's flag-draped casket was placed in an airport baggage cart with other luggage while being transferred between airline flights.

Bill Would Require ID on La. Caskets

The floodwaters of hurricanes Katrina and Rita disturbed hundreds of coffins, many forced from their grave sites without identifying markers to provide information about who was buried inside them. Now, lawmakers are considering ways to make those caskets more identifiable if the state has another flood.

The Vine
Undertakers face cost of drunken coffin spillage
Source: thelocal.se

Two sisters are claiming damages from a firm of funeral directors after their father's coffin was plunged ungracefully into a grave by undertakers unsteady on their feet.

Meet Suzie Park, a real life Vampire
Source: The Sun Newspaper Online

AS the clock strikes midnight Lady V raises a goblet to her lips and takes several hearty gulps. Finally her thirst is quenched - thanks to the warm human BLOOD she has just downed.

BBC NEWS | Business | Wal-Mart starts selling coffins
Source: BBC News

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, now plans to hold on to customers even after they die - by selling coffins. Prices range from a "Mom" or "Dad Remembered" steel coffin for $895 (£540), to a bronze model at $2,899.

Grieving mother fined £86 by crematorium for taking too long to say goodbye to dead baby boy
Source: the Mail online

When her son died at the age of only five weeks, Terrie Rouse was naturally heartbroken. At his funeral, she could not bear to leave his tiny coffin and spent a few extra precious minutes with it before allowing it to be taken away for cremation.

Michael Jackson laid to rest in gold coffin.
Source:

What the expensive coffin will do for him now? We never die, only the body dies. "Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust."

Funeral directors impale corpse in narrow grave
Source: austriantimes.at

Judges have ordered funeral directors to pay damages to a family after trying to stuff their brother's coffin into a narrow grave.

You'll die laughing
Source: The Sun Newspaper Online

IT'S your funeral – so why not pimp your final ride with a customised COFFIN to provide a bit of mourning glory?

Police Say Landlord Murdered Tenant, Kept Coffin in Living Room of Boarding House
Source: kyw1060.com

Excerpt: Philadelphia police have a man in custody in connection with a bizarre murder in which the victim was found in a makeshift coffin in the living room of a boarding home (above).

Japan's death rituals
Source: Straits Times Interactive - SINGAPORE

TOKYO - PREPARING corpses for the coffin is not the most glamorous of professions, but an Oscar nomination for 'Departures' has thrown an unexpected spotlight on the hidden world of the Japanese mortician.

Plastic surgery for the dead
Source: metro.co.uk

It was only a matter of time. You can get plastic surgery when you're a spoilt teen, an image conscious middle ager and a shrivelled old hag. So why not have some when you're dead?

Widow Killed By Husband's Coffin in Freak Accident
Source: Yahoo! News

A widow has been killed by her late husband's coffin in a freak accident on the way to his funeral. Brazilian Marciana Silva Barcelos, 67, was on her way to the cemetery when the hearse she was travelling in was hit by another car.

Is this the lost coffin of King Richard III?
Source: bbc.co.uk

It's the mystery of the royal tomb. For The One Show, Dan Snow travelled to Earl Shilton in Leicester to witness the excavation of what could be King Richard III's stone coffin.

Nazi billionaire's grave robbed
Source: Telegraph

A billionaire whose family fortune was built on Nazi slave labour and who feared being kidnapped throughout his life has finally been abducted – in his coffin.

Woman killed by husband's coffin
Source: BBC News

A Brazilian woman has died after being struck by her husband's coffin when the hearse they were travelling in was involved in a car crash.

Mystery of coffin found in field
Source: northwaleschronicle.co.uk

AN EMPTY coffin found dumped in a field with a sinister message attached to it is believed to be a student prank. The coffin is made of plywood with a wooden frame and is in Ashley Field next to Ffordd Menai, Bangor.

Coffin put up as prize in raffle
Source: metro.co.uk

A coffin - complete with pillow and brass reading light - was put up as first prize in a raffle by a tourist board.

Dead man stood over his own coffin before burial
Source: bild.de

Sporting Dolce&Gabbana sunglasses, Yankees cap and a silver cross, a dead Puerto Rican man stood over his own coffin as loved ones said goodbye.

Serial rabbit killer uses Google maps to find victims
Source: The Times

The roll call of victims is growing longer by the day. They have names like Rocco, Fussel, Marianne and Fluffy — and a five-man police unit has a file on each and every one.

Texas Teens Make Bong From Human Skull, Arrested
Source: ABC News

Three teenagers were arrested after two of them told police they dug up a secluded grave north of Houston, removed the skull from the coffin and converted it into a marijuana bong

Illinois man designs beer can coffin
Source: USA Today

"Bill Bramanti's favorite beer is Pabst Blue Ribbon. He loves it. Really loves it.

Pallbearer Buried By Coffin After He Falls Into Grave
Source: woai.com

A pallbearer says he was seriously hurt after he fell into a grave and the coffin he was helping to carry crashed on top of him.

The Real Body snatchers
Source: Telegraph

The body of a 76-year-old woman has been stolen from a hearse by her relatives in New Zealand.

Regents board approves college logos on coffins
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Want to show your undying devotion to Georgia Tech or UGA? Now you can.

Nail your boss into a coffin!
Source: Guardian Unlimited

People sometimes tell me I look like death when I arrive at the office in the mornings, but at least I've never actually been nailed into a coffin by my boss.

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