Decomposing body found on NorCal couch with daughter living upstairs in 'uninhabitable' home
08/24/2022 1:33 pm PDT
PETALUMA, Calif. (TCD) -- Police conducting a welfare check this week reportedly found a woman’s body on a couch and her daughter, alive, living upstairs.
According to a statement, on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at 10:52 a.m., Petaluma Police Department officers went to the 200 block of Windsor Drive to conduct a welfare check because the resident had not been seen "for several weeks" and boxes were piling up on her porch. Neighbors reportedly went to check in on the resident, but the knocks went unanswered.
Petaluma Police went to the home and tried to contact the resident inside, but once again, they received no response. Officers reportedly became "concerned for the welfare of the resident and made the decision to make entry into the home."
When they made their way inside, officers discovered a deceased female in the living room and a woman upstairs "who claimed to be the decedent’s daughter."
KRON-TV reporter Will Tran shared photos on Twitter of the home, including several piles of boxes near the door and a sign deeming the home "unsafe to occupy."
Wednesday-update from Petaluma, CA. Dozens of unopened boxes in front of home. It was those boxes that had neighbors calling police to do welfare check. Police go in yesterday. Dead’s mom body in living room. Daughter was in bedroom. She told mom died April 2021. (Cont) pic.twitter.com/vHSsVp8Irp
— Will Tran (@KRON4WTran) August 24, 2022 @KRON4WTran
Petaluma Police described the deceased woman’s body as being in the "advanced stages of decomposition" and said she had likely been dead for about a year. The adult female upstairs reportedly said the woman died in April 2021 from natural causes.
The supposed daughter was transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation and treatment.
According to the statement, the Petaluma Police Department Investigations Team and the Crime Scene Investigations Team arrived and "initiated an unattended death investigation." The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office reportedly took the body for identification and investigation.
Petaluma Police said a Code Enforcement Officer placed a red tag on the home due to the "interior conditions of the home being uninhabitable."
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