Woman slept next to brother's decaying corpse for 5 years in posh neighbourhood
A pensioner lived with her brother's corpse inside a property dubbed the "house of horrors" for five years.
The 70-year-old woman, from Newtown in Geelong, south-west of Melbourne, is said to have slept next to the "skeleton" in her public housing unit. The home is located in an affluent suburb, with the average home being priced at around £872,877.50.
Cops made the grim discovery after they arrested the woman for an unrelated incident on December 29, 2022. Inside the home, rubbish was mounted as high as the ceiling, with rats running around. It was reported that forensics in biohazard suits had to manoeuvre around dead possums and human faeces to reach the decaying body.
It is believed that the woman slept with the lifeless body for around two to five years. Locals said they had tried to make complaints to several government bodies for years, however, they did not get anywhere with their concerns.
Resident Nicole Stratton told the Geelong Advertiser: "It was a bloody skeleton they removed, not a body. How can someone be living with a dead body next door for five years and not a single person knows about it? They've tried to sweep this under the rug. We have been living next to a house of horrors."
Tragedy as 13-month-old boy dies after the stolen car he was in crashed
Ms Stratton said she thought the "utter filth" inside the home helped hide the smell of the dead body. "There was always a smell but we just thought it was the piles of rubbish," she explained. "The blinds were always down and you could see the mould on the back of them." It was reported that the deceased man was last seen alive by residents living on the street in 2018.
A City of Greater Geelong council staff member is said to have tried to engage with the tenant at least once before alerting the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing ( DFFH). It is believed that the local housing office launched a new system to help push forward any issues linked to welfare concerns following the incident, reports Daily Mail.
Victoria Police confirmed they visited the property to carry out a welfare check on the man before they discovered his remains. A spokesperson for DFFH said: "Several welfare checks had been conducted at the property since 2021 due to growing concerns regarding lack of contact, lack of access and the poor state of the property."
They continued: "This is a tragic incident. We send our sincerest condolences to the man's family and friends." The woman was released without charge following the man's death. However, a coroner is still investigating the cause of death.
The property has remained vacant for over a year and is expected to be upgraded later this year. The Mirror contacted the City of Greater Geelong for comment.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
