WAYNE COUNTY, NC (WNCN/CNN) - A man left family and friends in disbelief when they discovered his mother had died and he continued to live in the home they shared without telling anyone for months, without ever moving her decomposing body.
“Absolute shock. I’ve known the family for 25 years,” said family friend Bonnie Cooley when she heard of the situation.
The son lived with his mother in a trailer and had been her caretaker as she developed medical problems, according to Cooley. There was also a dead dog inside, which Cooley said had been there since October.
“He said that when she died that he could not physically let go of her body,” Cooley said.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said their landlord tried to check on the woman, and deputies had also been by before. Finally, last week, they insisted on coming inside, where investigators found the body after the son told them about it.
“He was not in a good place as far as mental health at all,” Cooley said. “Nobody can be and make those kinds of decisions."
Cooley said the man suffers from depression and that he's currently staying with friends out of state. She added that he was remorseful about what he’d done.
“He knows he didn't respect his mother's remains,” she said.
A sign on the door says the trailer is condemned. Authorities said they do not suspect foul play, though they are awaiting autopsy results to determine if any charges will be made.
Copyright 2018 WNCN via CNN. All rights reserved.
