MADRID, Oct 13 (Bernama-dpa) — The body of a man who is believed to have lain dead in his flat for around 15 years has been discovered in the Spanish city of Valencia, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
The macabre discovery in the La Fuensanta district was made after the fire brigade and police entered the flat on the sixth floor of the apartment building through a window.
They had wanted to clear up flooding caused by heavy rainfall, the TV stations RTVE and Antena 3 reported on Monday, citing the police in the eastern Spanish city.
Initial investigations by the authorities suggest the man, named Antonio, died around 2010, presumably at the age of 70 or 71.
The mummified corpse was found clothed in the bedroom, surrounded by pigeons, pigeon carcasses, insects and a lot of rubbish. The door to the flat was locked from the inside, and there are no indications of foul play.
The Spanish National Police assume that the death was natural, but an autopsy will provide further insights, they said.
Neighbours can hardly believe that they lived with a dead man practically under the same roof for 15 years. Those who knew him described him as reclusive and lonely. He had lived apart from his family for decades and had little contact with the outside world.
“Since we never saw him, everyone thought he was in a nursing home,” a neighbour told Antena 3.
“We didn’t know him here. We are all shocked,” another told the newspaper El País.
The paper reported that the man’s death went unnoticed because bills continued to be paid over the years and neighbours regularly emptied his overflowing letterbox.
— BERNAMA-dpa