A contractor assigned to work on a foreclosed home got the scare of his life when he discovered the mummified body of a woman in northwest of Detroit.
The "mummified" body, believed to be of the house owner in Pontiac who had not been seen by neighbors for years, was discovered on Wednesday, March 5, inside a vehicle parked in the attached garage.
Per the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, the woman is believed to have been in her 40s and the mummified body was discovered in the backseat of the jeep in her house on Savanna Drive. The body is said to be at least five years old and was described by the sheriff's office as being "in a mummified state."
"She's been dead years," said Robert Gerds, administrator for the medical examiner's office. "Everything is pending right now. It's still under investigation."
On Thursday, March 6, an autopsy was performed by the county medical examiner's office, but found no signs of trauma to the body. Apparently, the woman's internal organs had decomposed but her skin was intact. The cause of the woman's death is yet to be determined.
"She had $54,000 in her account and her bills were being deducted," said Undersheriff Mike McCabe to the Free Press. "Eventually, the money ran out and her house went into foreclosure."
Neighbors believed that the woman had moved out due to recession a few years ago and they have not seen her since. Her lawns were always manicured and the mail did not pile up, not raising any suspicion.
It was only when the money in her bank account ran out and the house went into foreclosure that the terrible discovery of her death was made. Neighbors complained of a hole in the roof of the woman's house through which raccoons were getting in, which prompted the bank to send a repair man who made the discovery.
"He went into the garage and saw the mummified remains in the backseat and called 911," said McCabe.
While the electrical service to the home was on, there was no heat. Moreover, the license plate on the vehicle in which the body was found in the attached garage had expired in 2008. The woman's body is believed to have been in the backseat of the car clothed in a winter jacket for at least five years.
Police are still trying to establish the identity of the deceased woman.
