14 DAY TRIAL // I think that dying alone and no one noticing you passed away is one of the saddest things on earth. Unfortunately, that's what happened to a German woman in the town of Oberursel, near Frankfurt, who was found dead in her apartment more than six months after her passing.
The 66-year-old woman's body was discovered in front of a television set that was still on. Authorities found a program guide from September near the corpse, which indicates the woman might have died six months ago.
A local newspaper informs that the woman died of natural causes, while she was watching TV, and says the body was “partially mummified” when it was discovered. The TV was flickering and the lights were still on when the police broke down the door of her apartment.
Although neighbors noticed an unusual smell in the staircase, nobody in the 30-apartment block alerted the authorities. The building's manager called the police only when a resident pointed out that the woman's mailbox was jammed with uncollected letters.
Apparently, nobody noticed her absence, because she didn't have any children or other close relatives.
“Someone should have noticed. Unfortunately, societal and demographic changes mean that such cases are increasing. Causes are lacking social ties and, in part, the desire for anonymity,” Chief Inspector Ulrich Demmer of Hesse police department told the local news outlet.