Gardaí hoping to determine time of woman's death after remains found in house
13 Body Property Discovered In Picture: Chani Was Where At Anderson Brookfield A Lawn City The Cork
Gardaí are to analyse the expiration dates on food, last bank transactions, and the dates of unopened post of a woman whose decomposing remains were found in a house in Cork City on Tuesday.
No foul play is suspected in relation to the woman's death. An autopsy in the coming days will determine the course of the garda investigation and should also determine her time of death.
It is believed that her remains may have been in the house for some time, possibly more than a year.
The heating was still on in the semi-detached house when her remains were found near the Lough in Cork City on Tuesday, and may have been a fire hazard.
Her body was found in a downstairs back room at her Brookfield Lawn home.
A neighbour entered the house with a pest control professional who found the woman’s remains at approximately 3.30pm on Tuesday.
Mice had been coming into neighbouring houses and the pest control worker went to investigate the deceased woman’s home as a possible source.
When they entered the house, there was a strong smell. When the pest control worker found the woman’s body, they both left the house immediately and called emergency services.
“The heating was still on in her room," the neighbour, who asked not to be named, said. "Paramedics said it was starting to smoulder, they were worried it could be a fire hazard and the fire service was called. The mice were probably a blessing in disguise because they helped us find her and find out that the heating was on.
“I was shaking when I came out.
“I don’t know how long she was there. I last saw her eight years ago. In the hallway, there was some post on the floor but it was not eight years' worth of post, it wasn't even a few years' worth. But maybe because the garden was so overgrown people stopped dropping off flyers.
“She had come home from England to nurse her elderly mother. I thought she had gone back to England.
"Maybe we should all make an effort to take more care of our neighbours.
“God love her. It’s very tragic.
“But we were lucky we were able to get in.
“At least she’s found. She can rest in peace now.”
Gardaí, the ambulance service and Cork City Fire Brigade were in attendance at the scene on Tuesday.
The woman is understood to have been in her late 50s.
It had been her family home, a neighbour said. Her parents had lived in the house and the woman had emigrated, but returned home to care for her mother.
But the woman was not well-known locally and largely kept to herself, talking to very few neighbours.
Local councillor Mick Finn said that the woman’s death was a tragedy.
“It’s very worrying," he said. "And this is not the first time something like this has happened. In the last year or two, another person’s body was found in the South Parish and they had been there for years.
“It's a concern that that can happen in this day and age.”
Mr Finn said he believes these incidents have increased since covid as some people, particularly the elderly or those living alone, never fully reintegrated into society after that period.
“It’s desperately sad that people die in such circumstances, even acknowledging the complexity of some situations and not knowing the full circumstances of people’s lives.
“People locally can’t believe it.
“It underlines the need for people and for neighbours to look out for each other.
“If you haven’t seen or heard from someone in a while, check in with them, or tell gardaí or support services.
“I think we need to learn lessons from it.”