Forgotten man lay dead in flat for six years (The Guardian)

[Up2Late]

(Although I don't think this could ever happen here, because of the bill collectors, this is my number one motivation to eventually get married)

Forgotten man lay dead in flat for six years

Society failed 63-year-old who fell through the net, says coroner

Vikram Dodd and Ali Hussain
Wednesday April 6, 2005
The Guardian

A man lay dead in his council flat for almost six years before being discovered, an inquest heard yesterday. The fully clothed skeletal remains of Kenneth Mann, 63, were found last June on his bed in Walsall, West Midlands. He had last been seen in 1998 after being admitted to hospital.

Richard Balmain, the coroner, said the former soldier seemed to have fallen through the net: "Society needs to ask how such a situation could arise in the 21st century." A succession of official agencies had gone to the door of the first-floor flat as Mann lay already dead. The inquest heard that a police officer had called, and so had bailiffs for the water company after bills went unpaid. Likewise there were attempted visits by his doctor, the Benefits Agency, and housing officials chasing unpaid rent. His brother had tried to visit. His neighbour across the hallway had not noticed anything wrong, the inquest heard. Housing officials from Walsall council served an eviction notice, but when he failed to reply they assumed he had moved.

The Guardian has learned that the council had declared the home empty in May 1999. Mann was to remain undiscovered for a further five years. He was found by chance. In June last year the grandson of a neighbour entered the flat in Carless Street, Caldmore, an area just over half a mile south of the centre of Walsall, and found the remains.

The coroner recorded a verdict of death by natural causes with the probable date of death being on or about September 23 1998.

(more at link above)

[Tweed]

1. Yikes!

[6000eliot]

2. This is heartbreaking.

We're capable of so much, yet we fail each other so often.

[NYC]

3. Why didn't they try to rent out the apartment?

...The Guardian has learned that the council had declared the home empty in May 1999. Mann was to remain undiscovered for a further five years...

That's very weird. I can understand why they thought he had moved, but why didn't they try to rent that apartment for the next 5 years?

[Up2Late]

8. It one of the few problems with a Socialist system

Civil Servants who only put in the minimum required effort:evilfrown:

[NYC]

10. We have public housing in NYC,

and I can't believe an apartment in them would go unrented for any length of time. I think people are on waiting lists to get in. (Must also be waiting lists for council flats in England.)

[Up2Late]

4. Kick for the Dead man

and because , when the move something to the Lounge, I can never find it.:kick:

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. :^(

[Fenris]

6. I feel sorry for the kid who discovered him, too.

:scared:

Yikes. That's not something you want to find.

[KittyWampus]

7. This Is One Of Those Stories That Makes Me Wonder What Weird Karma

the dead guy must got rolling in his past lives.

[Swede]

9. That's awful.

I remember reading about a guy in Japan that was dead in his apartment for over a decade. It's sad that they have no one in life.

[politicat]

11. It can happen here - there was a guy a couple years ago....

With SS now requiring direct deposit and most pension plans doing the same, and automatic billing, the bills get paid, the money comes in. If the mail carrier just shoves the mail through the slot, it can build up for a very, very long time before it blocks the mail slot.

A corpse makes no noise, so no one complains about noise. (Why no one complained about the 1,4-diaminobutane (the smell of rot) makes me wonder, but then again, people can be oblivious, and if he was dehydrated at death, the chemical is not so strong...) A corpse, sad to say, is a very good neighbor if the bills are paid.

If I was in a situation where I had no one close, I think I'd be setting up a dead-man switch on my computer. Most police departments have a public assistance email address, after all.

[frictionlessO]

12. Wow, I wonder why his brother only tried once????

Sad...

[foreigncorrespondent]

13. I was reading a similar story...

...to this, about four weeks ago.

This woman had died in her kitchen (In California), and four three years her husband and son just walked around her to get their meals and stuff.

The police ended up arresting the son for elder abuse.

[MissB]

14. How incredibly sad

I cannot imagine having so few people check on me for six years.

I also cannot imagine that someone didn't notice a smell at least at first.

[Canadian Socialist]

15. This happened in Winnipeg

last year, if I remember correctly. I think the man had been dead for over a year. With direct deposit, etc. no one notice. He was a loner who never went out, but, WTF!