Woman Found Living With Mother's Corpse For Over 8 Months

A woman in India was detained for keeping her mother’s corpse for over eight months at her home.

Police arrived at the home in the city of Mumbai on Friday morning after receiving complaints from the 53-year-old woman’s neighbors that she was throwing garbage outside her window, only to find the body in one of the rooms.

The woman, who was not identified by local media, was detained for questioning. Investigation revealed the woman’s 83-year-old mother had died in March, and she was living with the corpse since then.

A neighbor told news outlet Mumbai Mirror that the woman was reclusive and found it difficult to make friends.

"This could be the reason she didn’t reach out to her neighbors when her mother died. She had no friends and probably didn’t know what to do. We could have arranged for her mother’s funeral. She was a lovely lady," a neighbor told the newspaper.

Preliminary investigation revealed the woman was suffering from mental health issues. The neighbors told the investigators the woman kept her pet dog’s body at home for several days last year, until her mother informed them. The neighbors then removed the canine’s body from the residence and disposed of it.

Police officer Gajanan Kadbule told the newspaper that during interrogation the woman could not coherently answer their questions following which she was sent for medical examination.

"We don’t put such patients in lockup. They were not aware of what they are doing. We will conduct medical tests and she will probably be sent for treatment," the officer said.

Investigation into the incident was ongoing and the mother’s body has been sent for an autopsy.

In a similar incident in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, a man was detained after he was found living with his 77-year-old mother’s decomposed body for close to 20 days at his home.