Frozen French couple go up in smoke

Faulty freezer forces cryogenics' cremation

By Chris Williams • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 17th March 2006 13:01 GMT

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A French couple who had their bodies frozen in in the hope that medical science would one day be able to resurrect them have had to be sent up the chimney after a bit of bother with the leccy.

Cryonics pioneer Doctor Raymond Martinot stuck his wife in cold storage back 1984. He paid for his massive refrigeration bill by inviting tourists to gawp at the chest freezer. Son Remy added Ray to the stiff collection in the crypt of their chateau when he too snuffed it in 2002.

A bitter Remy recounted the disaster to AFP: "I realised in February that after a technical incident their temperature had risen to -20C probably for several days. The alert system [on the freezer] had not worked and I decided at that point that it was not reasonable to continue."

The cruel twist must be a real kick in the teeth for Remy, who had fought a long-running legal battle with authorities to be allowed to keep his folks on ice. When court ordered them in January to be buried or cremated, Remy said he would appeal the decision at the European Court of Human Rights. ®

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