A murdered Puerto Rican man who always insisted he'd like to spend his own wake on foot has been granted his wish after grieving relatives propped him in a corner of his house for three days while they said their goodbyes.

According to El Nuevo Día, 24-year-old Ángel Pantoja Medina was a good friend of the funeral directors whose embalming skills permitted the macabre display. His brother, Carlos Torres, explained: “It was his idea ... Every time he passed the funeral home he'd say: ‘When I die I want to spend the wake standing up’. He was a joker to the end.”

Pantoja Medina was suitably dressed for the send-off in a New York Yankees baseball cap and "bling" chain, as you can see here. ®

Related stories

• Man dressed as dead mother to scam $1m (18 June 2009)

  https://www.theregister.com/2009/06/18/not_norman_bates/

• Texas graverobbers 'used skull to smoke dope' (9 May 2008)

  https://www.theregister.com/2008/05/09/skull_tale/

• NY corpse attempts to cash welfare cheque (9 January 2008)

  https://www.theregister.com/2008/01/09/welfare_check_plan/

• Spaniard buys flat complete with mummy (16 May 2007)

  https://www.theregister.com/2007/05/16/unexpected_fixture/

• BA upgrades corpse (19 March 2007)

  https://www.theregister.com/2007/03/19/ba_upgrade/

• Pickled builders find pickled body in barrel of rum (5 May 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/05/05/jamaican_overproof_rum/

• Aussies fine illegally-parked corpse (24 October 2005)

  https://www.theregister.com/2005/10/24/deceased_parking_fine/