Wife Finds Missing Husband’s Mummified Remains In Closet After Eight Months: Report

A woman in Illinois found her missing husband in the closet of her home after he had been missing for eight months.

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New Delhi: A woman in United State's Illinois found her missing husband in the closet of her home after he had been missing for eight months, according to Independent.

Jennifer Maedge reported her husband Richard Maedge missing on April 27, 2022. During the investigation, the police searched the house in Troy, Illinois and the investigation went on until December 11 when Jennifer found her husband’s remains in a closet in the house when she went out to get stuff for Christmas decorations.

According to a coroner’s report, the husband died by suicide. “I decided to put the Christmas tree up, and I was looking for a tote of Christmas ornaments, and that’s when I discovered him,” the wife told The St Louis Post-Dispatch in December. “He had committed suicide.”

According to Independent, Jennifer told the police that the last conversation between the two happened a day before she reported him missing. Richard had called her to inform them that he was leaving for work early. However, when she got home he was not there. She further said that his car was parked at the house and his keys and wallet were there.

The police found no signs of his whereabouts when they searched the home, according to Independent. According to Fox 59, Kelly Rogers, the chief deputy coroner in the county, said police had informed that the home was that of a “hoarder”.

During the search operations, law enforcement noticed a “sewer-like” smell at the house. She called the police again to report the smell after which the police searched the home again. The police also found the same smell but could not find any signs of the husband, Independent reported. According to the deputy coroner, the family contacted the plumber, according to whom the smell was similar to that of sewer gas.

The plumber fixed the issue of the smell by putting a cap on a sewer pipe in the basement. The body of the husband moved beyond decomposition and reached to a mummified stage, the deputy coroner told KTVI. It is a situation that occurs when the fluids dry up or are removed from the skin. Rogers further said that a body that has reached this state may not smell much because of which Maedge remained missing for so long. According to the autopsy, No foul play is suspected in his passing.