Woman's Skeletal Remains Found On Couch Two Years After Neighbors Complained Of Stench

The skeletal remains of a 61-year-old woman were found on the couch of an apartment in London more than two years after neighbors first started complaining about a foul smell in the building.

Metropolitan Police officers arrived at the building after receiving complaints about the woman’s balcony door violently banging back and forth in Storm Eunice, which swept through the city last week. Responders arrived Friday at around 7 p.m. and smashed the apartment door down to find the woman’s remains inside.

The police department confirmed the discovery of a deceased woman, according to MyLondon. “Concerns had been raised about the welfare of a woman who lived at the address. Officers attended and forced entry,” their statement reportedly said. “The body of a 61-year-old woman who was deceased was found inside. The woman's death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A file will be prepared for the coroner.”

Neighbors of the deceased woman said they had been complaining to the housing association about the stench since 2019. They said the horrendous smell would come and go in waves.

Ayesha, a mother-of-four who lives in the building, said she complained about 40 to 50 times to the association about the smell and once had to block her door with a towel because the smell was unbearable. “My son was getting headaches, he was feeling sick,” she told MyLondon. “When I was pregnant I was vomiting all the time. I would ask my neighbours 'Can you smell that? Or is it because I am pregnant?'”

Another resident, living right below the 61-year-old woman’s apartment, said she found maggots “come through the windows” in the summer of 2019.

Korrina White, 33, also said that her son noticed flies coming from underneath the door during the very same summer. She blamed the smell on the sewage at the time. White’s partner, Daniel Fitzgerald, 40, also noted that the woman’s mail was piling up in her post box.

“The postbox was rammed full, it was bulging out and I put it back in,” he told the outlet.

Following the grim discovery, Ayesha told the publication that a cop said they found a skeleton on the couch inside the woman's apartment.

A spokesperson for the building association provided a statement to The Guardian following the discovery of the woman’s skeletal remains.

“We are saddened to learn that our resident has passed away. Our dedicated tenant and family support team carry out regular welfare checks with people who may be vulnerable,” read the statement. “We did make repeated attempts to check on the resident and liaised with the police to try and make contact. We are offering support to neighboring residents, who will understandably be upset, and our teams are there today. We are working closely with the authorities and will investigate all of the circumstances and actions taken in this case.”