corpse in mattress

From: "Len Berlind" 
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Life Imitates AFU: The Sequel
Date: Sun, 13 Mar 94 16:38:44 -0400

From the Miami Herald, 03/13/94, possibly FAQable and definitely yet 
another reason for German tourists to avoid South Florida.
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"Corpse found under tourist's hotel bed"
By Alina Matas , Herald Staff Writer

A German tourist who complained of a foul odor in his hotel room 
unwittingly led police to a decomposed corpse under the bed where he 
spent the night.

Saturday, police were still investigating the identity and death of a 
woman found under a bed at the Travelers Hotel at 4767 NW 36th St. in 
Miami Springs. A maid found the body Friday morning after the tourist 
complained of a foul smell as he was checking out.

The body was so badly decomposed, investigators have only been able to 
determine the woman was five feet tall, weighed about 100 pounds and 
had shoulder length brown hair. She was wearing a blue-green top and 
lacy black skirt.

"It's bizarre," said [police police spokeswoman]. "We don't know how 
long she was there."

[autopsy done Saturday, findings not released]
[tourist questioned, cops let him go]

"We were looking for the smell," said [hotel housekeeper]. "We thought 
it came from the roof, but it was in the room."

[hotel manager not talking]
[life goes on at the hotel, maids, maintenance guys doing their jobs]
[another guest says "It's just something that happens. I've enjoyed 
spending the winter here."]

But the news certainly impacted the manager of a nearby hotel with a 
similar name - the Travelodge Hotel at 5301 NW 36th St.

[Travelodge manager asks media not to confuse the name of the hotel where 
corpse was found. Says "It's been on the news and on the radio. There's 
concern among guests."]
[local color]


============================================
--Len

January 25, 1995