I'm surprised the housing officials didn't call round sooner to pester her to repay her debts.

Yeah. I think it's bullshit.
Because of what Surana said, and you'd think, since it's an apartment building, someone would get some hint of a nasty ass smell coming from the room next door.

I don't buy it.

Where'd you find this?

it was widely reported in the british press roughly a week back.

the residents did report a smell... a couple of years ago.

"attended by vincent's relatives" - so didn't they wonder where she'd been for THREE years??

__________________
i think there may be something on my head.

^^ yeah

kinda shows you how alone we really are, you know?

But I can't believe this would REALLY go unnoticed for THREE years. It's.. almost unbelievable to me.

wouldn't someone smell something?
that happened in my uncles appartment and like everyone in the surrounding appartments smelt it after i think like a week or so

it's not uncommon for people to keep their dead relatives/partners until they rot away, either. sleep in the bed with them etc.

and there was a program on tv a couple nights back showing a terraced house in which a woman had kept a horse amongst other animals. when she died and her brother went through the house (when she was alive he had to make an appointment to visit and was only allowed in the one clean room) he found lots of rotting animals and crap everywhere. i mean, he had visited the house in the past and not thought anything!! the horse had been dead for 20 years, by the way. it had rotted away and all that was left was a skeleton covered by a taut leathery skin.

Regardless of whether this report is true; it should serve as a reminder to us how important it is to have regular contact with fellow humans.

if that aint some performance art i dont know what is.

... Sounds like pure shit

It could happen.

Erm...it's hardly common. Certainly not in my part of the world! I guess you do read about it occasionally in the papers.

This is a really sad story...it's plausible but just horrible to think about. I wonder when she last had human contact before she died.

I guess the money for TV licenses, heating, rent etc. would have been paid by direct debit straight from her bank account, so no one would think anything suspicious until the money ran out.

I read in the paper that no one noticed her death because there was always a lot of noise around the women's refuge where she lived (TV always on - nothing abnormal) and the bins and corridors smelled strongly, so the smell of her decomposing wouldn't have been remarked upon.

there was another report that week as well, a 52 year old woman dead for 2 years. she was found when burglars broke into her house.

it can happen much more easily than you think.

i'm surprised inthe first one they didn't call round about rent, heating, electric bills, tv licences earlier though

in what universe is that not uncommon?

maybe they called around but she just never answered the door, perhaps they though 3 years was far to long and thats why they deceided to drill the door open.
they would hardly do that the first time they called!

Somethings fishy there because the electric company would of cut off her supply within 3 years of non payment. I guess so anyway. They don't usually keep people just in case.

EDIT: I Didn't think of direct debits.

Anywho, very very sad.

If she was of slim build, and died next to a heat source, she would have "dried out" (mummified), especially if there was little humidity in the apartment. There would have been some smell of decomposition, but not much. The worst would've been the first week, and after that, it would've gotten very faint.

If the building was made of brick or stone, it would've contained odors better than a wooden building. If she was on a carpet it would've absorbed any fluids draining out of the body.

I know this is creepy to think about, but the fact that she was undiscovered isn't really that remarkable. She was hiding from domestic abuse, right? Probably some friends and family thought she'd get in touch eventually, but she was making a new life for herself, so...

Also, we've come across mummified rats and mice in the basement and attic of our house while renovating... no smell.

Someone would've HAD to have been paying her electric bills, cable bills, and the like.

Sounds fishy.