dying alone

[fajwat]

I remember a few cases of a year or more not mentioned below but "found dead in apartment" is hard to google.  I think there was a woman in Europe who posthumously made the news last year when she was found a year or two after she died -- and she'd had a sister she'd kept more or less in contact with.

Anyhow, extreme examples of the body in #217, which I still think I can smell in the hallway.  Some days more than others.

there would be the same text if you clicked me

Have you ever lost something and found it in an unexpected place much later? Perhaps you misplaced a wallet, your keys, or your driver's license- but most times such things can be replaced. Not in this case.

The corpse of a deceased German man was discovered alone in bed Thursday afternoon, nearly seven years after the man supposedly passed away. Police in the German city of Essen said that the man was 59-years old when he died, inferring that the man passed sometime near the turn of the century. November 30, 2000 is the projected date-of-death for the man who was single and unemployed when he died. Police believe he died of natural causes.

The man received a letter from the Welfare Office the day he died. Next to his body, police found a pack of cigarettes, a television guide, and some Deutschemark coins (which have been out of circulation since Germany switched over to the Euro). The man apparently died in the possession of objects that are a must in any hip German bachelor pad.

The man's apartment was located in a building that shares space with numerous office buildings and other apartments. Although many of those apartments are now vacant, one would assume the smell of a several-year-old rotting corpse would have alerted a person or two over the years. Apparently not.

Certainly the most interesting part of this story lies in the fact that nobody noticed that their grandfather/ friend/ shuffleboard partner had been missing. "No one missed him. No missing person report was ever filed," said local police. Somewhere in western Germany, an individual has got to be kicking himself for forgetting about the existence of a loved one.

This incident is reminiscent of several other cases where a person was found dead a very long time after they actually passed. In February earlier this year, a New York man was found deceased in front of his television more than a year after he kicked the proverbial bucket. The television was, of course, still on (and no doubt awkwardly tuned in to something embarrassing, like the Oxygen Channel).

The Germans apparently have a penchant for ignoring their deceased. In December of 1999, a German man in the city of Bonn sat dead in his armchair for five years with his TV blaring and his Christmas tree lights on before someone discovered him. "Someone said once that he had gone off to a home, I didn't ask any more," said Monika Majarres, who lived in the same block of flats as the man.

[nacho]

So...how do the bills get paid?

[fajwat]

more odd in an apartment, where they can't own the place, isn't it?  Even my automatic rent pay broke down after one year -- this guy was unemployed and had a welfare "check" -- apparently not a direct deposit stub.  And the TV still being on a year later in so many of these shorter cases, although those utilities might be included.... yeah.

And then there's some folks (I've met several recently) who think the world will stop without them if they don't answer every fucking call whenever their cell rings.

[nacho]

Buyer finds mummy in Spanish flat
By Pascal Harter
BBC News, Barcelona

A man in north-eastern Spain has made an unexpected discovery after buying a new home without seeing it first.

Inside he found the mummified body of the previous owner.

Jordi Giro bought the flat in the Costa Brava resort of Rosas at an auction after the previous owner defaulted on her payments.

He told police that he was shocked on going into the flat for the first time to discover her body sitting on the sofa.

It seems that Maria Luisa Zamora failed to keep up payments on her mortgage because she had in fact died in 2001.

Forgotten

Police believe the body has been preserved by the salty sea air.

Coroners said Mrs Zamora died of natural causes.

But questions are being asked about why no-one has been concerned as to her whereabouts for the last six years.

Police say neither her estranged husband nor her children in Madrid registered a missing persons report for the 55-year-old.

Neighbours say Mrs Zamora had bought the flat as a holiday home and told AFP news agency that when the garden grew over they assumed she had simply stayed away.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6659911.stm

[fajwat]

better, worse, or the same as dying alone?

I wonder if we'll ever hear any follow up on this.

VIENNA (Reuters) - An Austrian woman lived with the mummified remains of her aunt for a year, Vienna police said Wednesday.

Officers found the corpse of the 96-year-old aunt under a blanket on a bed after ignoring the 51-year-old niece's claim that her aunt was sleeping and should not be disturbed, a police statement said.

A preliminary inquiry had determined that the niece, who was taken to a psychiatric hospital for examination, may have covered up the death for financial reasons, it added.

Austrian news agency APA quoted police investigator Gerald Hoebart as saying possible theft was being looked into since the younger woman appeared to have lived off her aunt's pension since the death and used her cashpoint card to withdraw money.

An autopsy was planned to check whether any foul play was involved in the death, believed to have happened in August 2006.

[RottingCorpse]

This thread is awesome.

[Cassander]

i'm bookmarking it so that 50 years from now i can post: "It's happening....TO ME!"

[nacho]

Woman lived for months with dead partner
Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:04am EST

VIENNA (Reuters) - A 66-year-old Austrian woman lived for almost a year with the corpse of her 85-year-old partner, APA news agency said Wednesday.

Police found the remains of the man in the couple's small vacation cottage in the eastern village of St Andrae am Zicksee Tuesday, swaddled in blankets with the dwelling reeking of decomposition odors.

The woman had told a local doctor and neighbors who tried to contact the man since last March that he was abroad. APA said police were looking into whether the woman concealed his death in order to collect his pension payments.

The dead man was separated from his wife, who had also tried to contact him, APA said.

(Reporting by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Giles Elgood)

[Reginald McGraw]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/01/10/mom.kid.found.dead.kptm

[Nubbins]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/01/10/mom.kid.found.dead.kptm

Jesus Christ that is depressing.

[Reginald McGraw]

I know, on a lot of levels.

[Nubbins]

I'm not even exaggerating when I say that is one of the saddest news stories I've ever heard.

[nacho]

Burglar finds corpse and calls police
Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:03am EST

BERLIN (Reuters) - A Berlin burglar's break-in took an unexpected turn when he stumbled upon a corpse and felt compelled to call the police.

"He called to say he'd just broken into a flat and found a dead body," said a spokeswoman for Berlin police Thursday. "He gave the address of the place and then hung up."

Officers discovered the 64-year-old resident of the flat dead in his bedroom. The man had passed away about two weeks ago, and authorities are not treating the death as suspicious.

The burglar has not been heard of since. Local media said he fled the apartment empty-handed, but police could not confirm this.

[fajwat]

If he left empty handed I'd give him a pass.  Even if he only took a little.

[Matt]

Left someone else to clean up a mess. Lazy fuck.