Dying Alone & Loners' Unnoticed Deaths

[maximus otter]

Body found sitting in a chair in Sierra home, likely for years, officials say​

Officials believe that a body found inside a home in a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills has been there for years before it was discovered.

At around 10 a.m. Saturday, a Calaveras County sheriff’s deputy was sent to a home in the town of Wallace to conduct a next-of-kin notification. The neighboring Amador County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the death of an unidentified man, and the deceased man's son was believed to be living at the Wallace home.

When the deputy arrived at the residence, it appeared no one was home, but he heard the faint sound of a fan, Calaveras County Sheriff’s spokesperson Lt. Greg Stark told SFGATE in a statement. The deputy peered through a window and found what appeared to be a dead man sitting in a chair. He then called for backup.

Stark said the house likely had not been entered for years. “Evidence suggested more than three years,” Stark said in the statement. “Due to the condition of the body, the detectives were unable to determine the cause of death or identification of the deceased.”

The identities of the deceased individuals in Calaveras and Amador counties have not yet been disclosed by the sheriffs' offices, Stark said, but there are no signs of foul play.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Body-found-sitting-in-a-chair-in-Sierra-home-17379887.php

maximus otter

 

[Mythopoeika]

Body found sitting in a chair in Sierra home, likely for years, officials say​

Officials believe that a body found inside a home in a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills has been there for years before it was discovered.

At around 10 a.m. Saturday, a Calaveras County sheriff’s deputy was sent to a home in the town of Wallace to conduct a next-of-kin notification. The neighboring Amador County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the death of an unidentified man, and the deceased man's son was believed to be living at the Wallace home.

When the deputy arrived at the residence, it appeared no one was home, but he heard the faint sound of a fan, Calaveras County Sheriff’s spokesperson Lt. Greg Stark told SFGATE in a statement. The deputy peered through a window and found what appeared to be a dead man sitting in a chair. He then called for backup.

Stark said the house likely had not been entered for years. “Evidence suggested more than three years,” Stark said in the statement. “Due to the condition of the body, the detectives were unable to determine the cause of death or identification of the deceased.”

The identities of the deceased individuals in Calaveras and Amador counties have not yet been disclosed by the sheriffs' offices, Stark said, but there are no signs of foul play.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Body-found-sitting-in-a-chair-in-Sierra-home-17379887.php

maximus otter

So... where was the son? Or was that him, in the chair?

 

[EnolaGaia]

So... where was the son? Or was that him, in the chair?

This Los Angeles Times report clarifies the situation. The man in the chair was the father. His son left the seated corpse in place so he (the son) could continue to access (receive?) the father's funds.

Son collected dead father’s funds as body decomposed for years, officials say

BY SUMMER LINSTAFF WRITER
AUG. 18, 2022 4:19 PM PT

A man who died last month in Jackson, Calif., is suspected of leaving his father’s body in a chair in their home in the Sierra Nevada foothills for years after the older man’s death in order to access his funds, authorities said.

Randall Freer, 63, died July 13 after he was exiting a business in Jackson in Amador County and experienced an undisclosed medical condition, according to Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Greg Stark.

To conduct a next-of-kin notification, a Calaveras County sheriff’s deputy arrived at about 10 a.m. on July 13 at a residence in the 9000 block of Camanche Parkway in Wallace, Stark said. The deputy thought no one was home but heard a noise that he believed to be a running fan.

The deputy peered through the window and saw a deceased person sitting in a recliner, Stark said. He alerted the detective division to come help investigate. ...

Evidence suggested the man had been there for more than three years due to the level of decomposition of the body, according to Stark.

“It was severely decomposed with partial skeletal remains,” he said. “In my 28 years of law enforcement, this type of investigation is extremely rare. We don’t typically find someone who has been dead for so long inside a residence.” ...

Calaveras County Coroner Kevin Raggio identified the man inside the Wallace home as Ada Clinton Freer, 91, and Randall Freer’s father. There were no signs of foul play; the cause and manner of death are undetermined due to natural causes.

Raggio said he had conducted his own investigation and went to a bank, confirming that the last time Ada Clinton Freer signed a check was in 2016. However, Randall Freer was on his father’s account and was collecting funds until his own death last month. ...

“The son assumed the dad’s identity, and I suspect that he was probably living with his dad and living off his father,” Raggio said. “When his father died, he discovered him and just left him sitting in the chair in the home and kept using his funds for his own purposes. In order to use the money, he couldn’t say that the dad passed away, so he was collecting Social Security and retirement.” ...

FULL STORY: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-18/dead-body-in-home-son-assumes-identity

 

[maximus otter]

Haunting picture shows mysterious last surviving member of Amazon tribe who's died after years living alone in jungle

The mysterious loner, who was the only inhabitant of Tanaru Indigenous Territory in Brazil, was found dead lying in a hammock.

The indigenous man, who is estimated to have been around 60 years old, was known as “The Man of the Hole” for his habit of digging and hiding in holes in the ground.

He was the only survivor of an uncontacted tribe whose six other members were killed by land grabbers and farmers.

Choosing to lead a solitary life in the jungle, he had rejected any attempt to contact him.

Back in 2018, he was filmed by a government team.

He is said to have laid traps and fired arrows at anyone who came too close.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/19642502/haunting-picture-last-surviving-member-amazon-tribe/

maximus otter

 

[maximus otter]

Body of man 'left for 12 days' found by neighbours who spotted maggots crawling through door

The body of man has been found in an assisted living facility after maggots were spotted crawling under the door of his room. Residents in Riverside Housing's Thirlmere Court, Harding Close, Anfield, were met with a "really awful smell" on Thursday, August 25.

The housing company was informed and drains around the property were cleared, however the stench remained. According to a neighbour in the building, who did not wish to be identified, the smell got "much, much worse" on Sunday and another complaint was made.

Merseyside Police were called to the address on Monday, August 30, where officers discovered the body of a man. He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene, with his death not being treated as suspicious by authorities.

“Residents live independently in their homes, although all of the flats have technology to summon help in the event of an emergency and motion detectors to alert our staff to any unusual periods of inactivity inside a flat.

Our staff visit the scheme several times a week to ensure residents have someone they can talk to about their needs or any issues with their home. At this early stage of our enquiries we believe the motion detector in this flat was set to indicate that the resident was planning to be away from the scheme for a period of time. This meant the motion detector would not have flagged inactivity in the flat.”

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/body-man-left-12-days-27873001

maximus otter

 

[EnolaGaia]

Here's a sad case of a lone / unnoticed death in a quite public place ...

This South Carolina department store janitor entered a store restroom last Thursday morning. She was found dead in the restroom the following Monday evening, after her family filed a missing person report. Her cleaning cart was parked outside the restroom during the 4 days she was MIA. Foul play is not believed to have been involved. An autopsy is pending.

Worker was dead in department store’s bathroom for 4 days: authorities

A 63-year-old worker died in the public bathroom of a South Carolina department store, but her body was not discovered for four days, authorities said.

Bessie Durham, a janitor at the Belk at Columbiana Centre, was found dead Monday ... Her cleaning cart was outside the restroom.

Durham was last seen Thursday at work and her body was found shortly after her family filed a missing person report ...

The Lexington County Coroner’s Office said there are no signs someone killed Durham or that she was using drugs. An autopsy is planned for Thursday to determine her cause of death. ...

Durham was seen on a surveillance camera going into the bathroom at 7 a.m. Thursday and she did not come out. Her body was found around 8 p.m. Monday, the coroner’s office said.

The store was open regularly over those four days and Kelly said police are investigating to see if anyone was negligent. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.krqe.com/news/weird/wor...tment-stores-bathroom-for-4-days-authorities/

 

[maximus otter]

Decomposed body found in Rhode Island home IDed as former mayor Susan Menard​

The body of a former Rhode Island mayor has been found decomposing in her home, officials said.

Longtime Woonsocket Mayor Susan Menard was identified Wednesday as one of the two people found dead in her home this week.

The two “badly decomposed” bodies were found in Menard’s home on Monday, police said.

Though the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths is ongoing, authorities have said there are no signs of foul play.

“The causes of death for these individuals are still pending,” the medical examiner’s office said in a statement.

The second body discovered in Menard’s house has yet to be identified.

https://nypost.com/2022/09/21/decomposed-body-ided-as-former-rhode-island-mayor/

maximus otter

 

[EnolaGaia]

This Arizona woman has been busted for entering a neighbor's house and stealing items which she'd been reselling online. The neighbor was assumed to have moved away a year earlier. She hadn't moved away ... She was "mummifying" in the bathtub.

Arizona police find 'mummified' body in bathtub during burglary investigation

Authorities came across a mummified body in the bathtub of a home in Arizona as they investigated a burglary.

In a press release, Bullhead City police said officers were responding to a burglary at approximately 3:30 a.m. Saturday when they discovered 65-year-old Christine Lee Walters rummaging through items inside the northwestern Arizona house.

Walters was allegedly ransacking the home and selling the homeowner's purses, bags, and clothing online. ...

Police said Walters told officers she didn't know the body was in bathroom of the house.

"The deceased body was in a mummified state and is believed to be the homeowner," police said. ...

It's unknown how long the body was in the bathtub.

The Mohave County Medical Examiner identified the victim as 60-year-old Wendy Mica.

Neighbors told police they assumed their neighbor had moved away because she hasn't been seen in a year.

Officers said it wasn't Walters' first time inside the home as she was reportedly there two days earlier. ...

Police said they found "pry marks on the door indicating forced entry into the home" from Walters.

Police received a search warrant and went to Walters' home.

"Detectives located more items belonging to the victim, including her birth certificate, IRS paperwork, driver’s license, and credit cards. Police also found drug paraphernalia items and a useable amount of methamphetamine," police said. ...

Walters was booked into jail on two counts of burglary. Police also said they are seeking additional charges after methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found in her possession. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.foxnews.com/us/arizona-police-find-mummified-body-bathtub-during-burglary-investigation

 

[Yithian]

South Korea has a significant number of these cases owing to increasing societal atomisation and the tendency to 'mind one's own business'.

High on the list of the potentially lonely, disengaged and excluded are the North Korean defectors, one of whose body was discovered in Seoul today as long as a year after death.

The accounts are all in Korean, but for what it's worth you can get the gist by autotranslating the article at the foot of his post.

The short version is that he was 49, named Kim, and living in a rental apartment whose arrears finally prompted a visit by a representative of the owner, who wished to instigate eviction proceedings.

The dead man formerly worked as a counsellor for other defectors, having reached South Korea in 2002. He was well liked by his mentees, but he resiged at some point last year and seems to have lived in absolute isolation since then.

His body was found—partially skeletal—wearing winter clothing from the previous year. The representative was initially puzzled by the sweet smell as he entered the apartment.

The South Korean government runs an extensive relocation programme that facilitates housing, employment, social support and counselling, but It's hard to imagine the sense of dislocation, guilt and isolation that many of these refugees experience.

https://t.co/hNqsMA3Uhj

 

[Kondoru]

Sad to be an alien in your own country.

 

[catseye]

we believe the motion detector in this flat was set to indicate that the resident was planning to be away from the scheme for a period of time. This meant the motion detector would not have flagged inactivity in the flat.”

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/body-man-left-12-days-27873001

maximus otter

Or 'broken' as we would call it.

 

[Dick Turpin]

We drive through Rillington (village in North Yorkshire) a lot. Every single time, my husband says in a sinister, Richard-Attenborough--in-character type voice: "Rillington Place".... He's done it for decades. He never doesn't do it.

Christie was originally from Yorkshire I think.

 

[Ghost In The Machine]

Christie was originally from Yorkshire I think.

He was. Seems to have been quite a hotbed for breeding serial killers. Sutcliffe, Christie, Donald Neilson, John Haigh and the more recent Stephen Griffiths. Possibly just statistical in that it's the largest county. Or maybe we're psychopaths.

 

[ramonmercado]

He was. Seems to have been quite a hotbed for breeding serial killers. Sutcliffe, Christie, Donald Neilson, John Haigh and the more recent Stephen Griffiths. Possibly just statistical in that it's the largest county. Or maybe we're psychopaths.

All those chip butties.

 

[maximus otter]

I lived with my dead neighbor’s blood dripping into my apartment for 2 weeks​

Her apartment was a bloody mess.

A Central Harlem woman’s living situation turned into a scene out of “The Shining,” with blood running down her walls and from her ceiling after her upstairs neighbor died and was left to rot for at least three days.

“I was lost for words,” said disgusted resident Elizabeth Parker. “This is like a real horror movie.”

The nightmare on West 116th Street began five days before Halloween.

The 35-year-old receptionist came from walking her dog to find a medium-sized puddle of blood on the floor, while a red stream trickled down the wall, a video shared with the Post showed.

A foul stench flooded the room.

“I don’t know what’s in the ceiling, I don’t know what I’m breathing in,” said the irate tenant.

Parker called the police, who found her 56-year-old neighbor’s lifeless body upstairs. The chief medical examiner’s office ruled the man died from natural causes, although police told Parker’s former gal pal they estimated he had been dead for “about three, four days” and his dog “had started to eat” the corpse.

https://nypost.com/2022/11/12/i-liv...blood-dripping-into-my-apartment-for-2-weeks/

maximus otter

 

[ramonmercado]

Twenty years dead and no one noticed. Who boarded up the house though?

Gardaí are investigating following the discovery of a body in a boarded-up house in Co Cork yesterday.

The body, discovered in the derelict house in Mallow around 12pm, is believed to have been there for at least 20 years.

Staff from Cork County Council alerted gardaí after discovering the man's remains in a bed during a cleanout of the property on Beecher St. The remains have now been moved to the morgue at Cork University Hospital. Gardaí are hoping that an autopsy by the State pathologist, along with dental records, will reveal the identity of the man.

Food found in the man's fridge dated back as far as 2001, the Irish Times reports. However, locals believed that the man had moved to the UK some time ago.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41048264.html

 

[Tigerhawk]

Twenty years dead and no one noticed. Who boarded up the house though?

Gardaí are investigating following the discovery of a body in a boarded-up house in Co Cork yesterday.

The body, discovered in the derelict house in Mallow around 12pm, is believed to have been there for at least 20 years.

Staff from Cork County Council alerted gardaí after discovering the man's remains in a bed during a cleanout of the property on Beecher St. The remains have now been moved to the morgue at Cork University Hospital. Gardaí are hoping that an autopsy by the State pathologist, along with dental records, will reveal the identity of the man.

Food found in the man's fridge dated back as far as 2001, the Irish Times reports. However, locals believed that the man had moved to the UK some time ago.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41048264.html

How do they know the food in the fridge was 20 years old? Jars with dates on them?

 

[Xanatic*]

A lot of food packaging has expiration dates these days

 

[Mythopoeika]

This means nothing by itself - my Mum has had stuff in the fridge for 10 years or more. I've had to clear it out occasionally.

 

[uair01]

His body was found—partially skeletal—wearing winter clothing from the previous year. The representative was initially puzzled by the sweet smell as he entered the apartment.

So it still happens today!
In medieval times such sweet smell was considered a sign of saintlyness.

 

[Frideswide]

So it still happens today!
In medieval times such sweet smell was considered a sign of saintlyness.

yup! the odour of sanctity!

 

[catseye]

Twenty years dead and no one noticed. Who boarded up the house though?

Gardaí are investigating following the discovery of a body in a boarded-up house in Co Cork yesterday.

The body, discovered in the derelict house in Mallow around 12pm, is believed to have been there for at least 20 years.

Staff from Cork County Council alerted gardaí after discovering the man's remains in a bed during a cleanout of the property on Beecher St. The remains have now been moved to the morgue at Cork University Hospital. Gardaí are hoping that an autopsy by the State pathologist, along with dental records, will reveal the identity of the man.

Food found in the man's fridge dated back as far as 2001, the Irish Times reports. However, locals believed that the man had moved to the UK some time ago.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41048264.html

Boarded up from the outside (property owner/local council told that kids might break in and be in danger from falling masonry) or from the inside (ghosts)?

 

[ramonmercado]

He's been identified, some more details.

Gardaí have identified the human remains found in a house in Mallow in North Cork after getting a positive match with records from a local dentist who had treated the house owner over 20 years ago.

Investigators are satisfied that the skeletal remains found in a bedroom in the single-story terraced house on Beecher Street in Mallow are those of the last registered owner of the property, Tim O’Sullivan, who bought it in 1989 after he returned from the UK.

Mr O’Sullivan was born in Co Kerry on September 29th 1939, and was in his late 50s or early 60s when he dropped off the radar in the early 2000s from the property on Beecher Street where he lived a reclusive life, often suffering from mental health issues that required hospitalisation.

Meanwhile garda technical experts in the course of examining the derelict house found a container of butter in the fridge with an expiry date of 2001 which led investigators to believe that the deceased, now identified as Mr O’Sullivan, had been dead for over 20 years.

The house, which Mr O’Sullivan bought in 1989, subsequently fell into disrepair and according to one source, the two windows were boarded up several years ago when youngsters started throwing stones at the property, but The Irish Times has not been able to establish who did the boarding up.

Meanwhile Cork County Council has confirmed to The Irish Times that the house was in private ownership and that the council had attempted to identify the property owner by way of title registration searches and most recently by way of affixing an “appeal notice” on the property.

However, the Council said in its statement that these efforts proved unsuccessful in identifying the owner as the property is unregistered while the council also said that it had no information about the boarding up of the house’s two front windows and front door letter box.

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/...an-remains-found-in-derelict-house-in-mallow/

 

[Floyd1]

He's been identified, some more details.

Gardaí have identified the human remains found in a house in Mallow in North Cork after getting a positive match with records from a local dentist who had treated the house owner over 20 years ago.

Investigators are satisfied that the skeletal remains found in a bedroom in the single-story terraced house on Beecher Street in Mallow are those of the last registered owner of the property, Tim O’Sullivan, who bought it in 1989 after he returned from the UK.

Mr O’Sullivan was born in Co Kerry on September 29th 1939, and was in his late 50s or early 60s when he dropped off the radar in the early 2000s from the property on Beecher Street where he lived a reclusive life, often suffering from mental health issues that required hospitalisation.

Meanwhile garda technical experts in the course of examining the derelict house found a container of butter in the fridge with an expiry date of 2001 which led investigators to believe that the deceased, now identified as Mr O’Sullivan, had been dead for over 20 years.

The house, which Mr O’Sullivan bought in 1989, subsequently fell into disrepair and according to one source, the two windows were boarded up several years ago when youngsters started throwing stones at the property, but The Irish Times has not been able to establish who did the boarding up.

Meanwhile Cork County Council has confirmed to The Irish Times that the house was in private ownership and that the council had attempted to identify the property owner by way of title registration searches and most recently by way of affixing an “appeal notice” on the property.

However, the Council said in its statement that these efforts proved unsuccessful in identifying the owner as the property is unregistered while the council also said that it had no information about the boarding up of the house’s two front windows and front door letter box.

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/...an-remains-found-in-derelict-house-in-mallow/

You'd think that once the council tax/gas/electric/water bills had stopped being paid that the council would just send the baliffs over and break in and search the place.

 

[ramonmercado]

You'd think that once the council tax/gas/electric/water bills had stopped being paid that the council would just send the baliffs over and break in and search the place.

It was privately owned, they were putting such a process in train but were moving slowly.

 

[Ghost In The Machine]

Looking for an older case I was trying to recall, found this:

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/23...t-family-thought-mummified-woman-still-alive/

Not technically "alone"...

 

[merricat]

Looking for an older case I was trying to recall, found this:

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/23...t-family-thought-mummified-woman-still-alive/

Not technically "alone"...

Crikey, that is such a sad story. And this:

“She looked like she was being nourished by eating her soul. I don’t know how to explain."
“Even though she was not eating, she was nourished with spiritual food and she was fulfilled.”

Reminds me of the (historical) stories of girls who starved themselves to get closer to God or to rid themselves of impurities.
What surprises me here is how all family members were of a similar mindset, so if only one of them had thought differently she may have survived, with medical help. I wonder what the mental health issue was? Possibly the result of extreme insularity, considering they had little contact with the outside world or tv/media. It is also quite sad to hear that Rina was a promising student yet never worked or left the house for 20 yrs
I am always intrigued by reports of people cultivating their own dialect.

 

[Ghost In The Machine]

Crikey, that is such a sad story. And this:

“She looked like she was being nourished by eating her soul. I don’t know how to explain."
“Even though she was not eating, she was nourished with spiritual food and she was fulfilled.”

Reminds me of the (historical) stories of girls who starved themselves to get closer to God or to rid themselves of impurities.
What surprises me here is how all family members were of a similar mindset, so if only one of them had thought differently she may have survived, with medical help. I wonder what the mental health issue was? Possibly the result of extreme insularity, considering they had little contact with the outside world or tv/media. It is also quite sad to hear that Rina was a promising student yet never worked or left the house for 20 yrs
I am always intrigued by reports of people cultivating their own dialect.

Yes, it's intriguing, wondering how they thought somebody not moving under a mattress was still alive...

 

[Floyd1]

It was privately owned, they were putting such a process in train but were moving slowly.

But the house must have been cut off then? I'll guarantee that if I stopped paying bills they'd send someone round within a few weeks at most and if I didn't answer, they'd then cut me off.

 

[ramonmercado]

But the house must have been cut off then? I'll guarantee that if I stopped paying bills they'd send someone round within a few weeks at most and if I didn't answer, they'd then cut me off.

Utilities would have been cut off.

He wasn't totally forgotten though.

The sister of a man whose body lay in a derelict house in Mallow, north Cork, for more than 20 years had called to the property to try to find him but was told he had returned to the United Kingdom.

The family of Tim O’Sullivan knew that he had moved to Mallow in the late 1980s when his marriage in the UK broke up and when they failed to hear from him, his sister Noreen called to the house on Beecher’s Street in Mallow sometime in the 2000s when on a visit home from Australia.

“She called to the house in Mallow, but it was derelict, and she asked the neighbours and the people in the pub across the road, and they all said that they thought that he had gone to England – he had lived all his life in England and people thought he had gone back there,” a source said.

“The family did have contact with Tim in Mallow, but then they lost contact with him, and Noreen went looking for him but after talking to the people there on the street, she was convinced he had gone to England and tried looking for him there but to no avail and went back to Australia.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/...w-house-had-gone-to-property-looking-for-him/