Mentally Ill Woman Spends Days With Decomposing Bodies Of Family: 'Thought She Was Sleeping'

A mentally ill woman spent two days living with the decomposing bodies of her mother and younger brother at their residence in the city of Bengaluru in the Indian state of Karnataka because she allegedly believed they were "sleeping."

Police said they got to know about the unmarried 47-year-old woman's situation after a fellow resident from BEML Layout called at approximately 2:00 p.m. Wednesday and complained about foul smell coming out of the family's house, the Times of India first reported.

Rajarajeshwari Nagar police reportedly rushed to the residence and spotted the partially decomposed body of a man next to the living room window. Upon forcing entry into the house, they saw what was described as a “frail woman walk out of a room”. Further inspection led to the discovery of another decomposed body, this time of an elderly woman.

The deceased were identified as Harish, 45, a private firm employee, and his mother Aryamba, 65. The bodies were sent to Victoria Hospital for postmortem.

The woman found alive in the house was identified as Srilakshmi, 47, Aryamba's daughter and Harish’s elder sister.

According to preliminary investigation, Harish had isolated himself inside the residence after testing positive for COVID-19 on April 22. Police said Srilakshmi failed to realize her mother and brother were dead because she is mentally unsound.

The woman told police that her mother and brother were sleeping and she was waiting for them to wake up. Asked why she didn’t eat food for two days, she told officials: "My mother used to cook for me and my brother. I thought she was sleeping. I did not eat anything as my mother did not wake up and prepare any food."

According to Srilakshmi, her mother fell on the floor a few days ago, and her brother Harish tried to call an ambulance. Later, he also fell on the floor. Authorities attempted to verify her claims and found that Harish had dialed 108, India's emergency number for ambulance services, multiple times Monday morning. No one, however, responded to the calls.

Police have filed this matter as a case of "unnatural death" and are continuing to investigate.