"
Neighbors didn't notice anything unusual. The woman traveled a lot, they said, and kept to herself. One of them mowed her grass to keep things looking tidy."
At some point, her bank account ran dry. The bills stopped being paid.
After its warnings went unanswered, the bank holding the mortgage foreclosed on the house, a common occurrence in a region hit hard by economic woes.
Still, nobody noticed what had happened inside the house. Nobody wondered out loud what had become of the owner.
Not until this week, when a worker sent by the bank to repair a hole in the roof made a grisly discovery.
The woman's mummified body was sitting in the back seat of her car, parked in the garage. The key was halfway in the ignition.
Skipping down to the good stuff all the way at the end...
Dr. Bernardino Pacris, the county deputy medical examiner who conducted the autopsy, told the Detroit Free Press that the woman's skin was still intact, but that the internal organs had decomposed.
Bouchard, the country sheriff, noted that her body was inside a closed vehicle inside a closed garage -- and, thus, not exposed to outside air or other factors that might contribute to decomposition.
Pacris told the newspaper that during the mummification process, skin develops a parchment-like consistency and leathery texture. Finding a body in such a condition is unusual, he said, but "once in a while, we see this."
If you disappeared, would anyone miss you?
26 comments:
I'll guarantee you one thing, if my mail kept piling up for two weeks, the post office would have someone check on me, and if they didn't get a good reason why, they'd call the police, and if my mail kept piling up, they'd call the police every two weeks until someone found out what happened.
I do live in a rural area, maybe that's the difference.
If you disappeared, would anyone miss you?
I'd be worried if Spinelli was asking.
My aunt is currently under Hospice care and near the end of her life. her health is poor, and she has been dying for years, but is now, truly, at the end of her life. Her body is failing but her mind was always sharp. That is no longer the case. She is cognitively incapacitated and I have to be careful to sign documents on her behalf. I am her Power of Attorney. She is almost out of money and her care facility wants 7400.00. (Medicare won't cover and yes - I tried everything I could to get her into a Medicare covered program - long story - she has bled the system dry for years)
I visited her lawyer, because I'm a bit lost. I need to figure out a way to access the little money she has left to her name. He informed me that after she dies we must place a legal notice in the local newspaper and then all the creditors have 4 months to collect, and they are first in terms of the Will. She has been secretive about her finances and they look to be a mess. I hope she has everything on automatic bill-pay, but it's difficult to tell. Besides looking in on her at few times a day, this has become my full time job. She has friends who pop in and one of the care-givers has become the daughter she never had, which is sweet and I am so grateful to this girl. However, I am worried my aunt will die alone in-between visits. Anyway - I got get showered and out the door to see her. Thanks for letting me blab in the death thread.
April - glad to listen to you. Any time you need to blab more, please do so.
I went through the same thing with my father last year, including the financial management aspect.
Note- if someone dies with less than $50,000 of titled assets, there is no need to file for probate or post a death notice in a newspaper.
HAZ@10:16am
I guess the $50,000 limit covers all the people with bumper-stickers that say "I'm spending my children's inheritance," right? :)
Virgil - it's not unusual for people to spend down their assets in the last few years of life, or to gift them to heirs.
@Michael
I've got to get busy and write a will and a deed of trust giving my house to my daughter.
My daughters and granddaughter will miss me when I'm gone!
But, it could take them a day or two to notice!
@Haz/
Oh yes I know, I was in the Estate-Planning business for many years..
April, I feel your stress. Mom's getting to the point that she needs more than any of us can provide. Her mind has been going for a while. She lost her excellent health care because she forgot to return the annual paperwork. Money became an issue because she didn't remember her bills were paid automatically. Those monthly "this is not an invoice, this is your status" letters confused her and she would send everyone a check. At one point she was 5 months ahead on her utility bill, but end-of-the-month debits bounced and racked up fees. We don't let her see the mail these days.
In my last house my neighbors wouldn't have missed me, but friends would. A pinochle game that had been going on every two weeks for over 30 years, two book clubs, committee work .... In fact, I was out of town on 9/11 and when I didn't return as soon as planned I caught hell from several people.
When they don't answer the Christmas card for 5 years might be a tip-off.
@ April
If your Aunt's finances are nearly depleted she probably qualifies for Medi-Care. Depending on the State she lives in. In Calif. Medi-Cal will pay for some of the care if your assets are below a certain level....including your primary residence. The problem is that they will also put a lien on your property to collect the funds from the remaining estate.
Most people don't plan soon enough or decide to be secretive about their finances.....and end up losing everything. My job as a financial planner was to urge (cattle prod) people into pre planning. If Grandma is eventually going to go into a LTC situation, there are plenty of things to do that will preserve the lifetime of work and accumulated assets. Gifting. Irrevocable Trusts. Life Estate in the property that was transferred out of Grandma's name. The planning needs to be done WELL in advance of the event, otherwise the IRS and State will not allow the transfers or trusts and will assume (correctly) that you are trying to weasel out of being fleeced at the end of life.
You should talk to a lawyer/financial planning team if there are assets you want to save.
"The woman's mummified body was sitting in the back seat of her car, parked in the garage. The key was halfway in the ignition."
She was sitting in the back seat. The key halfway in the ignition.
Calling Nick Tracy...
Don't worry Lem. I am sure the guys at the liquor store will come and check on you if you miss a weekend. I mean what are they going to do with all those cases of Bacardi?
I suspect I will not be missed much in death, but that's my own fault.
Except maybe by Uncle Sam, but only for the money.
I take notice every day that my name on the door at work is held in place by Velcro. Ha!
Cue Ben Folds.
Haz is also correct on what happens if the person dies intestate. The dollar amount of the estate differs from State to State that would require death notices or announcements of a person assuming powers of administration. You petition the court for this and have to post it incase there are other "heirs" who would object to your (assuming you do this) status as administrator of the estate.
Talk to the professionals, if there is anything worth saving.
Calling Nick Tracy...
Dick's younger brother?
Oops. Dead link.
Fred Joners Part 2, Ben Fold.
AllenS, how would your farm animals or pets make out if you "passed"?
She died peacefully.
Make auto payments temporary, that way there will be a little money for the burial. Just saying.
I'm down to some barn cats, and that's it rc. My last horse died right before Thanksgiving. Luckily, the ground wasn't frozen, so I was able to bury her.
Awww. No beef on the hoof, Allen?
"Dick's younger brother?"
Something like that.
"My last horse died right before Thanksgiving."
Sorry to hear it.
Thanks for the advise, DBQ and others. Unfortunately, with my aunt, it's too late to do anything regarding her finances. I'm just cleaning up the mess she made. After her small retirement fund is used to pay off current debt, her condo will be sold to pay off the rest.
Her brother is arriving from Chicago today and it will be a relief to have an actual family member pick up some of the heavy lifting.
I'm an idiot, though. Yesterday I singed some paperwork that I never should have. I fully expect to be the proud new owner of all her outstanding invoices to Aviva for her in-home oxygen. I needed some of that oxygen for my brain.
Yes. Make your wishes known and prepare a will.
If you won't do it, the state will.
The worst example occurred many years ago in the 1990's. My then boyfriend's close friend's father died. The father owned a huge mansion on 7th ave in Denver and ran a metaphysical school. The father had every intension of leaving the mansion to his son, but he never made it official in a legal document. The father died unexpectedly and the few people who ran the school sued the son for the mansion and won. How sucky is that?
Post a Comment