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A judge is ordering a Concord man to put an unusual family heirloom to rest.

Judge Richard Hampe said a mummified baby passed down for 90 years through Charles Peavey's family must be buried because there is no DNA evidence proving kinship.

Peavey said Wednesday his family is disappointed, but will not appeal the decision.

"I'm just washing my hands of it," Peavey told The Concord Monitor's Annmarie Timmins. He said he can't afford the DNA tests needed to prove the remains are related.

Authorities became aware of the mummified infant, known in Peavey's family as "Baby John," in April 2006 after Peavey's niece told day care staff her uncle kept a dead baby in his home. Peavey had kept Baby John on a bureau in his home.

Authorities confiscated the mummy, which Peavey's family believes to be a relative's stillborn child. Relatives and friends treated the mummy as a part of the family, giving it cards during holidays and even a dried pet fish.

Tests determined that the baby likely died of natural causes, not foul play, at birth or shortly after, and that the remains are decades old.