The man’s cause of death remains under investigation
An elderly Australian woman slept next to her brother’s decomposing body for five years in a rat-infested house in Victoria. subway reported. The woman, aged in her 70s, lived with the body in a public housing unit on Russell Street in Newtown, Geelong, which is considered an affluent suburb.
Police made the horrifying discovery after they arrested the woman on December 29, 2022, for an unrelated matter. Forensic officers wearing biohazard suits had to wade through piles of rubbish, rats, dead possums and human excrement to find the skeletal remains.
It is understood the woman slept next to the body for two to five years. Notably, the man was last seen alive in 2018 by some residents living on the street.
However, the woman has been acquitted and the cause of her death is still under investigation. The house has been vacant for more than a year.
“They removed a damn skeleton, not a body. How could someone have been living with the body next door for five years and no one knew about it? They were trying to sweep it under the rug. We’ve been Trying to live next to a house of horrors,” neighbor Nicole Stratton told The New York Times Geelong Advertiser.
The woman was a tenant at the Ministry of Families, Equity and Housing, raising questions about how the body could have remained buried for so long without being discovered. Locals say they have tried to complain about the smell to several government agencies over the years, but they have been ignored.
Neighbors believed the “utter filth” inside the house masked the smell of the body.
“There was always a smell but we just thought it was piles of rubbish. The blinds were always down and you could see the mold on the back of them,” Ms Stratton added.
A Department for Families, Fair and Housing (DFFH) spokesman said: “Since 2021, a number of welfare checks have been carried out on the property due to growing concerns about a lack of contact, access and the poor condition of the property.”
They added: “This is a tragic incident. Our sincerest condolences go out to the man’s family and friends.”
