I kind of feel bad for Mostafa Mahmoud Zayed. Not only did the 75-year-old from Marina Del Rey, California, kill himself, the saddest part is nobody noticed. For nearly a week, neighbors walked right past the elderly man’s slumped body as it slouched on his third-floor apartment balcony because they thought it was merely a Halloween decoration. I wonder how long he would have stayed there had someone not eventually called police.
That’s one of the problems with Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday, but there’s always some kind of controversy that comes along with it, from offensive costumes to the standard tropes from religious organizations offended by the glorification of monsters or the co-opting of their high holy days, depending on the belief system. Then, things like this happen and turn urban legends into urban realities. I thought Christmas was the depressing, suicide-prone holiday, but I guess not.
Tags: California, Marina Del Rey, body mistaken for Halloween decorations, suicides, Mostafa Mahmoud Zayed