A California woman lived with her mother's decomposing body for more than a year, police said.
Authorities made the discovery after responding to a call for a welfare check in the 200 block of Windsor Drive in Petaluma.
The neighbour who made the call had told police they had not seen the younger woman who lived in the house in weeks, and they became concerned when 20 to 30 packages piled up in front of the residence, Press Democrat reported.
They also said they hadn’t seen the mother of the woman in a year.
When authorities entered the home around 10.50am, they found the body of the older woman in an advanced state of decomposition in the living room. The adult daughter was in a bedroom.
After being questioned, the woman reportedly told police that her mother had died of natural causes in April 2021. She was taken to a hospital for an evaluation while the body was transferred to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy.
“She had been living inside the house the entire time and was well aware of her mother’s body being located inside the house,” Lieutenant Jeremy Walsh with the Petaluma Police Department told Newsweek.
Fifty-two-year-old Brenda Martin, who witnessed police at the scene, told the Press Democrat she didn’t understand why neighbours had waited for so long to call authorities.
“I knew something horrible had happened,” Martin said. “I don’t know them. I just know it’s really tragic.”
“If one of the neighbors in my quadrant had even three packages, and I knew they weren’t on vacation, I would have called police,” she said.
Authorities told Newsweek they’re investigating the woman’s cause of death and don’t believe there’s a threat to the public.
