Woman Calls Police To Report Son's Death, Cops Find 10-Day-Old Rotting Body In Apartment

An elderly woman has been arrested after cops found her son's decomposing body in her apartment. Police said the corpse was at least 10 days old.

Toshiko Ujibe, a 76-year-old woman from Asaminami neighborhood of Hiroshima in Japan, was arrested Monday after she requested help from cops regarding her son's decomposing body.

The officials who arrived at the scene initially noticed a foul smell emanating from the apartment, which the woman shared with her son. They then found the decomposed body of the woman's 53-year-old son, Kenji, lying on a mattress in a room.

The body had multiple cuts on the neck and is believed to be at least 10 days old.

"When the police took in the body and conducted initial screenings, we found that her son likely died 10 or so days earlier, in mid-May," police officer Hisaru Uemoto told news outlet Vice.

The investigators are now trying to determine why Ujibe did not report her son's death earlier.

"She seemed confused and didn't know what to do, but we aren't able to announce her motives in not reporting until we are able to confirm further details," Uemoto added.

Police have not released any further details about the circumstances surrounding the death. They are awaiting an autopsy report to determine the exact cause of death.

Ujibe was arrested on suspicion of violating a law prohibiting a person from damaging, abandoning or possessing a corpse, NY Post reported. She faces a maximum sentencing of three years imprisonment on these charges.

A similar strange incident was reported from Ukraine in March. Authorities in the city of Novomoskovsk were shocked to find a 52-year-old man, identified as Valeriy, living with his brother's dead body for months as he was "afraid of being lonely."

The incident came to light after neighbors alerted cops after the brother was not seen outside for a long time. The investigators found out that Valeriy has been living with the decomposing corpse for almost four months. During an interrogation, Valeriy admitted to concealing the death of his brother who reportedly died of a heart attack. He told police he did not have the strength to bury his brother and instead decided to live with the corpse.