A COUPLE whose bodies spent almost 15 years in a mortuary after being discovered in the basement of a former fishmonger's shop have been buried despite a bid by their son to stop it.
Eugenios and Hilda Marcel were embalmed after they died in Edinburgh in the late 80s and early 90s.
Their son Melvyn Marcel lost a legal bid to stop a Edinburgh City Council arranging their funerals saying he wanted to build a fridge in his Edinburgh home to place the bodies in until he builds a mausoleum in the property.
He had planned to eventually take his parents bodies to be buried in Gaza in the Middle East.
But Edinburgh Council won the legal battle over the funeral and on Thursday morning in front of a handful of people they were laid to rest during a ceremony at Craigmillar Castle Park Cemetery.
In February, councillors gained permission from Lord Mulholland to arrange a burial for the couple.
The council argued they had a statutory duty to dispose of the bodies.
In his failed appeal at the Court of Session, Melvyn Marcel told judges Lord Carloway, Lord Brodie and Lady Clark of Calton: “I’m fighting for justice but nobody’s helping me.”
Hilda died in 1987 from lung cancer whilst her husband passed away from prostrate cancer aged 91 in 1994. Their bodies were embalmed and a relative regularly visited them at the premises.
Police discovered the bodies during an investigation into alleged fraud at a funeral home in West Lothian.
It was claimed that staff at a Broxburn undertakers had been paid to preserve the remains and four employees were sacked.
However, none of those who were allegedly involved in the fraud were charged or prosecuted for any offence.
The Marcels have been kept at Edinburgh City Council’s Cowgate morgue since police found their bodies in the basement of a former fishmonger’s in Polwarth in 2002.
The local authority was unable to do anything because the couple’s sons - Nigel and Melvyn - had not given council officials instructions on what should be done with regard to their parents.
In a written judgement, Lord Mulholland wrote: “It should be noted that the bodies of the defender’s parents have been in the city mortuary for many years, no doubt at some cost to the City of Edinburgh at a time when the public purse is under significant constraint.”
Melvyn Marcel told the court that the case had caused him considerable stress and had an adverse effect on his mental health.
He added: “It was harming my medical condition. It was harming my anxiety. It was making me worse.
“Everything was falling on top of me.”
Edinburgh City Council confirmed the couple had been buried at a funeral at Craigmillar Castle Park Cemetery on Thursday.
A spokesman simply said: “A funeral was held today for Mr and Mrs Marcel.”
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